CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

AND  THE 

NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS 

IN  CHINA 


JAMES  B.  WEBSTER 


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CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

AND  THE 

NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS 
IN  CHINA 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/christianeducatiOOwebs 


CHRISTIAN  EDUCATIO 


AND  THE 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS 

IN  CHINA 


BY 

JAMES  B.  WEBSTER,  Ph.D. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION,  SHANGHAI 
COLLEGE,  SHANGHAI,  CHINA 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 
681  FIFTH  AVENUE 


Copyright,  1993 

BY  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 
All  Rights  Reserved 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


/ 


TO 


CHINA 

AND  TO 

Those  Who  Give 
Time,  Money  and  Life 
in  Her  Service 


PREFACE 


The  intimacy  and  increasing  complexity  of 
present  and  future  international  relations  calls 
for  fundamental  changes  in  the  thought  and  con¬ 
duct  of  individuals  and  the  smaller  social  groups. 
The  development  of  the  international  mind  and 
its  probable  consequences  appeal  strongly  to  the 
imagination.  Its  appearance  is  founded  on  and 
is  as  certain  as  the  laws  of  physical,  mental  and 
social  development.  Pessimism  as  to  the  out¬ 
come  is  rooted  in  a  persistent  narrow-group 
viewpoint  of  world-conditions.  Knowledge  of 
human  achievements  along  these  three  lines 
seems  to  justify  the  formulation  of  a  practical, 
comprehensive  program  for  working  out  these 
changes,  and  a  rational  effective  optimism  as  to 
the  results. 

In  the  following  pages,  the  writer  seeks  to  de¬ 
fine  the  aims,  ideals  and  practical  values  of 
Christian  education  in  China  in  order  to  help 
secure  the  right  adjustments  in  this  intensely  in¬ 
teresting  contact  of  western  and  eastern  nations 
in  the  Pacific  Basin.  These  adjustments  involve, 

vii 


PREFACE 


•  •  • 
vm 

primarily,  mental  attitudes  and  social  forces 
with  which  missionary  education  deals  directly. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  eulogize  or  to  apologize 
for  Christian  missions.  As  a  sane  method  of 
racial  and  cultural  cross-fertilization,  mission 
work  is  a  higher  type  of  mental  activity  and  very 
evidently  has  a  greater  survival  value  than  the 
murderous  and  destructive  conquest-methods 
which  the  race  has  hitherto  employed,  and  has 
not  yet  entirely  abandoned. 

This  fact  does  not,  however,  obscure  the  mis¬ 
takes  and  the  imperfections  of  mission  work. 
No  matter  how  justifiable  the  method  may  be 
from  the  standpoint  of  science,  morals  and  re¬ 
ligion,  it  has  been  employed  largely  on  man’s 
“trial  and  error”  basis  and  with  the  usual  de¬ 
fects.  God  and  His  natural  laws  are  not  respon¬ 
sible  for  all  that  men  have  done  in  His  name. 
Christian  missions,  like  all  our  social  institu¬ 
tions,  have  been  only  dimly  telic  and  strongly 
colored  by  the  egoism  and  small-group  interest 
of  the  times  in  which  they  arose.  To  correct 
these  defects  and  to  secure  right  adjustments  in 
the  definite,  concrete  and  critical  situation  now 
developing  in  China,  there  is  needed  a  compre¬ 
hensive  program  based  on  the  fundamental  laws 
of  biology,  psychology,  sociology  and  economics 
so  far  as  these  are  now  revealed  to  the  race. 

Right  international  adjustments  in  China  now 


PREFACE 


ix 


will  be  far-reaching  in  their  influence  on  the 
entire  range  of  racial  adjustments  in  this  new 
era  of  internationalism.  If  Japan  abandons  the 
policy  of  military  and  political  aggression  in 
China,  it  seems  safe  to  prophesy  the  early  restor¬ 
ation  of  friendly  relations  between  these  two 
nations. 

Mutual  understanding  and  respect,  sympathy, 
confidence  and  co-operation  are  the  only  final 
solution  of  international  relations.  Any  social 
devices  or  methods  that  do  not  contribute  evi¬ 
dently  and  directly  to  this  solution  are  primitive 
and  lacking  in  survival  value.  These  desired 
qualities  may  be  secured  between  nations,  as  be¬ 
tween  individuals  and  smaller  groups,  by  the 
right  kind  of  education.  Such  an  education  must 
satisfy  the  legitimate  desires  of  the  individual 
for  self-realization  in  and  through  that  social 
process  which  brings  the  highest  race-realization. 
The  author  hopes  to  contribute  to  the  working- 
out  of  such  an  educational  policy  and  the  achieve¬ 
ment  of  happier  international  adjustments  be¬ 
tween  China  and  the  Western  nations. 

Special  acknowledgment  is  due  Professor  Ed¬ 
ward  P.  St.  John  and  Professor  George  E.  Daw¬ 
son  for  their  personal  interest  in  the  preparation 
-  of  the  manuscript  and  for  introducing  me  to  the 
vital  relation  between  religious  education  and 
the  fundamental  principles  of  biology  and  psy- 


X 


PREFACE 


chology.  Professor  E.  A.  Kirkpatrick’s  Funda¬ 
mentals  of  Sociology  suggested  the  outline  for 
the  study  of  the  cultural  needs  of  the  Chinese. 
Most  of  the  historical  data  relating  to  education 
has  been  drawn  from  Professor  Paul  Monroe’s 
works.  Professor  John  Dewey’s  philosophy  of 
education  and  social  progress  has  been  particu¬ 
larly  helpful.  Professor  Richard  T.  Ely’s  Evo - 
lution  of  Industrial  Society ,  although  dealing 
with  western  society,  was  very  suggestive  in  the 
study  of  China’s  economic  needs  as  these  are 
related  to  education.  Helpful  parallels  for  recre¬ 
ational  needs  were  found  in  Education  Through 
Play ,  by  R.  H.  Edwards.  Bishop  Bashford’s  in¬ 
terpretation,  China >,  has  encouraged  a  more  gen¬ 
erous  valuation  of  China’s  civilization.  Our  Task 
in  India >  by  Bernard  Lucas,  was  helpful  in  mak¬ 
ing  a  distinction  between  proselytism  and  real 
evangelism. 

The  writer  is  indebted  to  other  authors  in  the 
various  fields  considered,  but  the  list  is  too  long 
to  incorporate.  A  number  of  indirect  references 
and  a  few  direct  references  have  been  dropped  in 
publication,  in  order  to  avoid  the  annoyance  of 
frequent  foot-notes. 

Professor  T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  Professor  D.  J. 
Fleming,  Professor  E.  W.  Capen,  Miss  Evelyn 
Dewey,  and  others  who  have  kindly  read  the 
manuscript,  have  given  valuable  suggestions  for 


PREFACE 


xi 


revision.  Professor  Sailer’s  personal  interest  in 
China  and  in  Christian  education  has  made  his 
suggestions  particularly  helpful. 

Mrs.  Yvonne  Watkins  gave  splendid  voluntary 
assistance  in  putting  the  manuscript  in  final 
form  for  publication. 

My  chief  acknowledgment  is  due  my  wife  for 
her  sympathetic  encouragement  and  the  assis¬ 
tance  she  has  given  in  the  preparation  of  the 
manuscript. 

Jambs  B.  Webster. 

Atlantic  City ,  New  Jersey, 

March ,  1923 . 


( 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  A  Survey  of  the  Larger  Task  of  Christian 

World-Missions .  1 

II.  The  Motive  Forces  in  Christian  Missions  17 

•m.  Christian  Education  and  Its  Aims  ...  27 

*  IY.  The  Classical  Ideal  in  Education  ...  61 

'  Y.  The  Social  Ideal  in  Education  ....  81 

YI.  The  Eelation  between  Western  Educa¬ 
tion  and  Chinese  Education  ....  101 

VII.  The  Problems  and  the  Values  ....  129 

VIII.  The  Basal  Factors — Bio-Psychological  .  138 

IX.  The  Needs — Economic . 156 

X.  The  Needs — Protective . 198 

XI.  The  Needs — Recreational . 205 

XII.  The  Needs — Cultural . 225 

XIII.  The  Needs — Social . 233 

XI Y.  The  Needs — Moral  and  Religious  .  .  .  251 

*  XY.  China’s  Educational  Task . 281 

XYI.  China’s  Distinctive  Contributions  to  Ra¬ 
cial  Development . 294 

Topical  Bibliography . 302 

References . 309 

Index . 317 


CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION 

AND  THE 

NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS 
IN  CHINA 


Christian  Education  and  the 
National  Consciousness  in  China 


CHAPTER  i 

A  SURVEY  OF  THE  LARGER  TASK  OF  CHRISTIAN 

WORLD-MISSIONS 

A  study  of  the  particular  field  of  China  and 
the  special  task  of  Christian  education  must  be 
pursued  in  all  its  essential  relations  to  the  larger 
task  undertaken  by  Christian  world-missions. 
This  is  necessary  in  order  to  secure  the  proper 
perspective  for  the  observation  and  judgment 
of  facts  discovered  in  this  field.  The  comparison 
of  the  data  with  that  available  from  other  coun¬ 
tries  will  be  found  to  throw  much  light  on  per¬ 
plexing  problems. 

International  relationships  have  come  so  prom¬ 
inently  to  the  front  that  it  is  impossible  to  dis¬ 
regard  their  bearing  on  every  phase  of  life.  Edu¬ 
cation  for  the  world-society  of  this  century  must 
place  these  international  factors  in  the  fore¬ 
ground.  Christian  education  must  be  able  to 

see  the  trend  in  the  various  phases  of  this  larger 

1 


2  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

life  and,  as  these  phases  may  require,  to  direct, 
control,  or  inspire  these  movements  for  the  ad¬ 
vancement  of  social  righteousness. 

Christian  education  must  recognize  and  con¬ 
serve,  alike,  all  material  and  spiritual  factors 
and  forces  at  work  in  this  period  of  new  rela¬ 
tionships  upon  which  the  world  is  now  enter¬ 
ing.  It  must  not  allow  itself  to  be  prejudiced 
in  its  judgments  by  the  over-emphasis  of  spe¬ 
cialists  in  any  one  of  the  various  material  or 
spiritual  forces.  Biological,  sociological  or  eco¬ 
nomic  factors  do  not  comprehend  the  whole  field 
of  present  and  future  social  needs.  No  more  do 
ethics,  theology,  pedagogy,  or  psychology  solve 
the  problems  apart  from  the  consideration  of 
material  factors.  Education  can  make  its  proper 
contribution  to  society  only  by  re-establishing 
and  teaching  the  natural  and  essential  relation¬ 
ship  between  the  material  and  spiritual  factors 
in  life. 

The  separation  of  these  factors  has  been  arbi¬ 
trary.  The  limitations  of  human  knowledge 
have  thrown  them  in  opposition  to  each  other. 
Modern  education  promises  marvelously  to 
broaden  the  limits  of  human  knowledge.  It  is 
becoming  more  generally  apparent  that  these 
two  elements  are  not  antagonistic  but  comple¬ 
mentary  and  mutually  necessary  to  each  other. 
Science  needs  more  spiritual  interpretation. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


3 


Religion  is  being  removed  from  the  field  of  magic 
and  superstition  to  the  realm  of  reason  and 
scientific  justification.  Any  monistic  interpre¬ 
tation  of  the  development  of  human  society  is 
irreligious  and  unscientific,  whether  that  inter¬ 
pretation  be  materialistic  or  spiritual. 

Honest  consideration  of  these  various  factors 
which  are  set  forward  by  their  special  advocates 
as  explaining  all  human  problems  and  curing, 
or  making  endurable,  all  human  ills,  makes  one 
hesitate  to  decide  that  any  single  one  of  them  is 
even  a  dominant  factor.  Not  one  has  been  able 
to  ignore  all  the  others  and,  at  the  same  time, 
furnish  a  satisfactory  explanation  of  human 
society,  its  history,  and  environment.  Under  the 
pressure  of  the  realities  of  nature  and  human 
life,  it  seems  as  though  the  material  factors  have 
too  often  hidden  or  crowded  out  the  spiritual 
factors. 

The  education  of  this  century  will  fail  in  its 
task  if  such  a  one-sided  view  of  life  dominates  its 
ideals  and  methods.  Christianity  will  go  the 
way  of  other  world-systems  of  religious  philos¬ 
ophy  if  it  fails  to  impress  human  society  with 
the  reality,  permanence  and  increasing  power 
of  the  spiritual  factors  in  the  development  of 
human  society. 

The  success  or  failure  of  Christianity  in  the 
midst  of  a  world-society  will  depend  upon  its 


4  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

ability  to  re-focus  its  vision  so  that  individuals 
and  nations  shall  not  disappear  from  its  sight 
but  shall  appear  in  their  proper  perspective  with 
relation  to  the  interests  of  a  human  world-society. 
The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  needs  no  re-adjust¬ 
ment  to  meet  this  new  situation.  On  the  con¬ 
trary  nominal  Christianity,  from  the  force  of 
circumstances,  needs  a  very  radical  readjustment 
of  its  angle  of  vision  in  order  to  see  the  coming 
needs  of  this  century.  It  has  seen  the  individual, 
the  denominational,  and  national  groups.  It 
must  now  see  international  unity  in  relation  to 
these  and  change  its  method  accordingly. 

The  justification  for  such  a  challenge  of  nom¬ 
inal  Christianity  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  world 
is  challenging  it  in  louder  and  more  imperious 
tones  than  ever  before.  The  criticisms  come 
from  within  and  from  without  its  ranks.  A 
moderate  degree  of  satisfaction  with  the  present 
achievements  and  influence  of  nominal  Chris¬ 
tianity  can  be  found  only  in  a  comparatively 
small  group  of  individuals.  The  facts  for  judg¬ 
ment  are  open  to  all.  They  are  sufficient  grounds 
for  the  challenge  and  a  partial  list  is  as  follows : 

1.  Nature  and  methods  of  appeals  by  leaders  of 
missionary  activities  to  churches. 

2.  Problem  of  non-attendance  of  church  services  by 
communicants. 

3.  Acknowledged  failure  of  church  to  reach  almost 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


5 


two-thirds  of  the  population  in  the  United  States  for 
even  nominal  church  membership. 

4.  War  between  Christian  nations  that  has  shocked 
even  the  non-Christian  nations  of  the  Orient. 

Other  equally  striking  facts  might  be  cited. 

These  facts  should  drive  all  those,  Christians 
and  non-Christians  alike,  who  have  had  a  real 
experience,  to  search  earnestly  for  real  values  in 
the  claims  and  methods  of  modern  Christianity. 
Has  it  forces,  ideals,  and  methods  that  will  meet 
the  changing  needs  of  a  new  era  of  human  rela¬ 
tionships?  If  it  has  these  elements,  what  are 
they?  The  statement  of  these  elements  is  essen¬ 
tial  to  right  thinking  and  clear  judgment  in  a 
special  study  of  the  work  of  Christian  education 
in  China,  or  in  any  other  country. 

Christianity  and  Christian  education  must 
have  clear-cut  ideals  that  comprehend  the  needs 
of  the  entire  human  race  as  it  rapidly  passes  into 
closer  and  more  complex  social  contact.  These 
ideals  must  be  able  to  meet,  not  only  the  new 
racial  contacts,  but  also  new  class  contacts  within 
the  racial  groups.  They  must  provide  for  the 
control  of  or  adjustment  to  the  whole  range  of 
material  and  spiritual  forces  of  the  universe. 
Materialism  limits  the  consideration  of  human 
phenomena  to  the  field  of  world-relationships; 
due  recognition  of  the  spiritual,  or  non-material, 
forces  extends  the  limits  of  such  consideration 


6  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

to  include  the  larger  cosmic-relationships.  The 
Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  provided  for  both  of 
these  relationships  in  its  ideal  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God.  Nominal  Christianity  has  had  glimpses 
of  this  ideal  and  has  undertaken  its  mission  to 
the  world;  it  needs  the  clear  vision  of  Jesus 
Christ  concerning  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

THE  PERSPECTIVE  OF  THE  KINGDOM  OF  GOD 

A  provincial  viewpoint  is  an  anachronism  in 
this  century.  The  world  is  demonstrating  to 
itself,  more  clearly  than  ever  before,  its  essential 
unity.  Humanity  is  rapidly  becoming  conscious 
of  its  solidarity  in  nature,  function,  and  final 
value.  Human  society,  in  its  primitive  states, 
recognizes  spiritual  or  non-material  forces  in 
its  environment,  but  obscures  its  thinking  about 
them  with  a  mass  of  crude  superstition.  If  the 
primitive  mind  has  vaguely  perceived  these 
spiritual  forces  and  sought  after  them  with  in¬ 
creasing  success  down  through  the  centuries  of 
human  history,  it  is  not  probable  that  the  civ¬ 
ilized  mind  of  this  century  will  reach  a  place 
where  it  will  dispense  with  the  search  for  and 
recognition  of  spiritual  values. 

The  perspective  in  which  Jesus  looked  upon 
humanity  and  its  activities  and  set  forth  his 
teaching  about  the  Kingdom  of  God,  or  the  King¬ 
dom  of  Heaven,  as  an  institution  to  be  developed 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


7 


on  earth,  meets  the  requirements  of  all  of  the 
various  conditions  of  human  society.  It  is  the 
only  perspective  that  does  do  it.  It  has  taken 
nineteen  hundred  years  for  the  human  race  to 
reach  a  point  where  any  considerable  number  of 
individuals  are  able  to  get  this  perspective.  The 
clearness  with  which  the  Man  from  Nazareth 
saw  the  possibilities  of  the  human  race  and  the 
principles  by  which  the  race  should  attain  these 
possibilities,  and  his  complete  dedication  of  him¬ 
self  to  these  principles,  are  the  strongest  proofs 
of  his  divinity.  This  vision  and  power  the 
Church  has  designated  as  his  divinity  and  has 
endeavoured  to  prove  this  divinity  by  appeal 
to  miracles  in  the  world  of  matter.  With  this 
perspective  only,  can  Jesus  Christ  be  called  the 
“Saviour”  of  the  world.  With  any  other,  he  is 
the  “Saviour”  of  a  few  “elect  individuals,”  cer¬ 
tain  groups  of  society,  and  of  “chosen  nations.” 
The  history  of  the  thought  and  activity  of  the 
Christian  religion  is  the  history  of  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  these  narrower  perspectives  and  their 
conflict  with  each  other  and  with  the  larger  out¬ 
look  which  Jesus  actually  revealed  to  the  world. 

What  are  the  essential  characteristics  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God?  These  characteristics  must 
be  clearly  defined  and  recognized  in  the  begin¬ 
ning  of  a  constructive  study  of  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  in  China.  Many  have  written  at  length 


8  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

on  this  subject  of  the  Kingdom  in  its  social  im¬ 
plications.  It  is  necessary  here  only  to  outline 
essentials. 

The  cod  gin  of  the  conception  of  the  Kingdom . 
It  is  not  possible,  here,  to  point  out  all  the  in¬ 
dividual  glimpses  of  the  idea  as  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament.  Clearly,  it  had  its  beginning 
before  the  time  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  The  theoc¬ 
racy  is  probably  the  earliest  form  of  the  idea. 
The  larger  conception  of  the  Kingdom  does  not 
appear  with  any  marked  emphasis  until  the 
Hebrew  people  had  been  forced  out  of  their  pro¬ 
vincialism,  by  their  suffering  at  the  hands  of 
surrounding  peoples.  Then  a  few  of  the  prophets 
caught  the  vision.  The  emphasis  on  the  social 
implications  of  the  Kingdom  appears  with  the 
prophets,  in  the  Eighth  and  Seventh  centuries 
B.C.  Beginning  with  Isaiah  in  the  Eighth,  the 
idea  of  the  Kingdom  as  extending  beyond  the 
borders  of  Palestine  appears  with  varying  clear¬ 
ness  down  to  the  Fourth  century. 

The  Kingdom  idea  as  it  appears,  even  in  its 
highest  form,  among  the  prophets,  is  so  colored 
by  Hebrew  provincialism  and  the  national  the¬ 
ocracy  of  Jehovah,  that  it  is  of  little  value  for 
this  study.  However,  these  earlier  forms  of  the 
idea  show  its  origin.  They  indicate  that  it  was 
a  growing  conception;  and  that  it  started  with 
and  grew  by  means  of  the  wider  international  ex- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


9 


periences.  The  conception  reached  the  climax  of 
expression  and  interpretation  in  Jesus  after  the 
Hebrew  traditions  and  ideas  had  been  permeated 
and  moulded  by  the  last  and  greatest  of  interna¬ 
tional  contacts,  the  Greek  and  Roman. 

With  Jesus’  interpretation  of  the  idea  we  have 
the  last  contribution  of  the  Hebrew  nation.  His 
Galilean  disciples  were  unable  to  grasp  and  hold 
the  idea  as  he  had  presented  it  to  them.  Only  a 
Jew  who  had  been  born  and  reared  in  the  Gentile 
city  of  Tarsus  could  understand  its  international, 
world-wide  message.  It  will,  therefore,  be  more 
profitable  to  confine  the  search  for  essential 
characteristics  of  the  Kingdom  to  the  teaching 
of  Jesus  concerning  it. 

The  scope  of  the  Kingdom.  This  includes 
the  entire  human  race.  The  first  sixteen  verses 
of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  are  world-wide  in 
their  bearing.  “Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth,” 
(not  simply  of  the  Jews)  ;  “Ye  are  the  light  of 
the  world,”  (not  simply  of  Palestine).  “Go  ye, 
therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  .  .  .  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  com¬ 
manded  you,”  will  stand  the  test  of  the  spirit  of 
Jesus’  teaching  whether  it  will  stand  the  test  of 
textual  criticism  or  not.  The  Kingdom  includes 
the  children,  the  women,  even  social  and  moral 
outcasts.  It  is  not  simply  a  spiritual  kingdom 
in  the  hereafter.  It  comprehends  the  widest 


10  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

boundaries  of  this  earth  and  life.  This  seems  to 
be  the  clear  meaning  of  Jesus’  words  when  he 
taught  his  disciples  to  pray,  “Thy  Kingdom  come, 
Thy  will  be  done  on  earth  ” 

The  'principles  of  the  Kingdom.  These  are  the 
principles  of  a  social  democracy  in  which  the  in¬ 
dividual  realizes  his  best  self  in  advancing  the 
welfare  of  humanity  as  a  whole.  The  Scribes  and 
Pharisees  were  found  wanting  because  they  had 
the  notion  that  they  were  the  privileged  class 
to  which  was  intrusted  all  wisdom  and  truth. 
The  Jewish  nation  was  scattered  among  the 
neighboring  peoples  to  learn  that,  although  they 
were  “the  chosen  nation,”  they  had  not  been 
chosen  to  the  exclusion  of  the  other  nations  of 
the  earth.  Jesus  says  more  about  human  rela¬ 
tionship  in  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  than  he 
does  about  celestial  affairs.  The  last  judgment 
as  described  in  Matthew  xxv  is  based  on  the 
recognition  and  fulfillment  of  social  obligations 
to  the  lowest  classes  rather  than  on  metaphysical 
and  theological  statements  accepted.  The  Fa¬ 
therhood  of  God  receives  more  consideration  from 
Jesus  than  does  the  theocratic  and  violent  reign 
of  God  as  the  prophets  had  conceived  His  King¬ 
dom.  The  ideas  of  sonship,  fellowship,  co-opera¬ 
tion  with  God,  the  possibility  of  being  perfect  as 
the  Heavenly  Father  is  perfect,  these  constitute 
the  ideals  and  relations  of  a  Christian  social  de- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  11 


mocraey  rather  than  of  an  autocracy.  The  value 
which  Jesus  places  on  every  individual ;  his  recog¬ 
nition  of  the  solidarity  of  human  society  as  one 
great  family,  regardless  of  class,  nation  or  race ; 
his  identification  of  himself  with  these  masses; 
his  condemnation  of  narrow  social,  intellectual, 
and  spiritual  groups;  his  work  independent  of 
and  in  opposition  to  the  established  leaders  of 
J ewish  society ;  and  the  importance  of  service  to 
human  society  as  compared  with  words  and  pro¬ 
fessions,  all  these  emphasize  the  principles  of 
democracy  as  opposed  to  aristocracy.  By  these 
principles  and  in  such  service  the  individual 
achieves  his  highest  and  best  self — is  saved — and 
the  Kingdom  becomes  a  reality. 

The  method  of  the  Kingdom.  The  method  is 
that  of  slow  growth,  by  the  process  of  develop¬ 
ment  from  within  rather  than  by  accretion. 
Jesus  showed  that  he  knew  what  was  in  the 
hearts  of  men  too  well  for  us  to  believe  that  he 
expected  this  ideal  social  and  spiritual  kingdom 
to  be  perfected  in  his  own  day,  or  in  any  single 
day.  But  that  generation  did  see,  in  the  work  of 
the  disciples  and  the  Apostle  Paul,  the  teach¬ 
ings  of  his  Kingdom  so  thoroughly  established 
that  they  have  remained  and  steadily  increased 
in  influence.  The  Kingdom  came  with  social  and 
political  catastrophe  for  the  Jews.  Jesus  saw 
that  this  was  the  only  way  in  which  the  Kingdom 


12  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


could  be  rid  of  the  onus  of  the  privileged  and 
ruling  class  in  the  nation.  His  Father  had  re¬ 
vealed  all  things  to  him  and  he  knew  the  end 
toward  which  the  human  race  was  moving.  His 
own  bitter  experience  would  teach  any  man  that 
the  working  out  of  the  principles  of  the  Kingdom 
must  be  accomplished  eventually  by  the  slow, 
sure  process  of  development. 

The  agency  by  which  the  Kingdom  is  to  be 
realized.  This  agency  is  education.  The  account 
of  his  temptation  experiences  and  his  reported 
words  to  Peter  that  he  might  call  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels  to  his  aid,  his  teaching 
of  the  principles  of  non-resistance,  show  that 
magic,  miracles,  human  power,  and  military 
equipment  were  not  to  be  the  effective  agencies 
in  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom.  His  re¬ 
fusal  to  be  made  king  indicated  that  he  doubted 
the  use  of  political  power  as  a  successful  agency. 

Jesus  did  not  commit  to  his  disciples  a  set  of 
laws,  a  creed,  a  theology,  or  a  philosophy.  He 
did  not  teach  them  a  prayer  until  they  asked 
him  to  do  so.  His  own  observation  taught  him 
that  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  wras  not 
to  be  accomplished  by  memorizing  and  making 
commentaries  on  a  system  of  classical  writings. 

The  teachings  and  commandments  which  he 
gave  his  disciples  during  his  fellowship  witli 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  13 


them  bore  on  the  experiences  of  everyday  life, 
and  the  right  way  to  meet  those  experiences. 
“Whosoever  shall  do  and  teach  them,  the  same 
shall  be  called  great  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven.” 
(Matt.  v:19,  20).  In  a  sense  he  is  referring  to 
the  old  Jewish  laws  but  his  comparison  with  the 
Pharisees,  in  the  next  verse,  and  his  interpreta¬ 
tion  in  the  remainder  of  the  chapter,  show  that 
he  meant  far  more  than  teaching  the  Ten  Com¬ 
mandments  or  the  Levitical  Laws. 

He  taught  his  disciples  and  sent  them  forth  to 
teach  not  a  system  of  theology,  but  those  things 
which  are  a  vital  part  of  the  life  experiences  of 
individuals  and  society.  The  Holy  Spirit  was  “to 
teach”  and  “guide”  them  “into  all  truth.”  The 
educative  process,  free  from  the  external  and 
mechanical,  not  limited  to  the  mere  acquisition 
of  knowledge  but  including  the  entire  range  of 
human  experience,  is  the  effective  agency  for  the 
realization  of  the  Kingdom. 

The  value  of  the  Kingdom.  This  lies  in  its 
program  for  the  redemption  of  human  society. 
Jesus  substitutes  expectance  of  moral  and  social 
development  for  the  current  Jewish  expectancy 
of  a  divinely  precipitated  cataclysm  that  should 
bring  redemption  to  the  Jews.  The  value  of  the 
Kingdom  is  supreme.  It  is  the  first  thing  to  be 
sought  for  in  this  life.  It  is  the  “hidden  treas- 


14  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


ure”  and  the  “pearl  of  great  price.7’  Jesus  gave 
himself  for  it  and  therein  found  his  highest 
exaltation. 

The  task  of  the  Kingdom.  This  is  the  estab¬ 
lishment  of  a  perfect  social  order.  The  Kingdom 
program,  the  perfect  co-ordination  of  the  highest 
development  of  the  individual  and  the  greatest 
benefit  to  human  society,  undertook  the  task  in 
which  Greek  philosophy  had  failed.  Jesus  out¬ 
lined  the  Task,  the  Method,  the  Agency,  the 
Value.  He  committed  it  to  men  to  work  out.  He 
foretold  that  in  working  out  this  great  task,  they 
would  accomplish  greater  things  than  he  had 
done.  The  task  is  far  from  being  completed,  but 
it  has  at  least  entered  the  period  when  its  world¬ 
wide  meaning  to  mankind  is  coming  to  be  more 
clearly  understood  than  ever  before.  It  is  a  task 
for  work,  for  action  rather  than  for  wordy  philos¬ 
ophies.  (Matt,  vii  :21-27)  It  is  a  man’s  task,  and 
there  is  a  place  for  every  man. 

Jesus  expressed  his  conception  in  terms  of 
existing  forms  of  social  control.  Democracies  did 
not  exist.  Kingdoms  were  the  order  of  the  day. 
Man  has  known,  as  did  the  writer  of  Genesis,  that 
he  was  created  in  the  image  of  God  and  he  has 
been  pressing  forward  toward  the  realization  of 
that  likeness  until  democracies  are  now  the  order. 
It  is  no  violation  of  the  spirit  of  Jesus  to  call  it 
the  Democracy  of  God. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  15 


His  spirit  and  teaching  have  made  the  greatest 
contribution  to  the  Democracy  of  God  but  he  has 
not  been  the  only  contributor.  God  has  not  left 
himself  without  a  witness  among  the  other 
branches  of  the  great  human  family.  They  have 
known,  too,  that  they  were  working  out  a  divine 
destiny.  Jesus  is  coming  to  them  today  in  the 
fullness  of  time. 

The  “Democracy  of  God”  emphasizes  a  fellow¬ 
ship  and  communion  between  God  and  man  which 
is  not  implied  in  the  kingly  relation,  but  it  does 
not  deny  nor  destroy  the  sense  of  human  depend¬ 
ence  on  God.  Jesus  made  his  appeal  to  the  Jews 
on  the  basis  of  the  idea  of  the  Kingdom  of  God. 
Only  a  few  responded  with  a  permanent  under¬ 
standing  of  his  message.  Wherever  he  touched 
the  Gentiles,  there  was  a  surprising  response. 
The  Jewish  leaders  could  not  grasp  the  signifi¬ 
cance  of  the  idea  and  so  put  him  to  death,  but 
they  were  unable  to  destroy  his  message.  Today, 
the  world  of  young  manhood  and  womanhood  an¬ 
swers  no  other  call  as  it  does  the  call  of  a  strong, 
fearless  Christian  democracy.  This  generation 
has  no  more  use  for  kings  and  priests  than  had 
Jesus  for  the  authorities  of  the  Jewish  religion 
and  the  Roman  Empire,  in  formulating  his  moral, 
social,  and  religious  ideas. 

The  growth  of  Jesus’  influence  in  the  world 
calls  for  a  larger  conception  of  the  Kingdom  than 


16  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 

we  have  had.  We  need  to  understand  it  as  he 
understood  it.  Changing  social,  political  and 
economic  conditions  are  making  it  imperative 
that  we  get  his  vision  of  a  Democracy  of  God; 
that  we  have  a  faith  great  enough  to  believe  that 
it  will  become  a  reality  as  he  expected  it  to  do. 
We  need  a  consecration  in  service  that  will  enable 
us  to  achieve  the  divine  destiny. 


CHAPTER  II 


THE  MOTIVE  FORCES  IN  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS 

The  preceding  chapter  presented  the  task  of 
Christian  missions  in  its  broadest  aspects.  Social 
reconstruction  in  line  with  Jesus’  ideals  of  the 
“Kingdom  of  Heaven”  must  use,  impartially,  the 
material  and  the  spiritual  factors.  Such  a  re¬ 
construction  of  human  society  calls  for  the  fusing 
of  class,  national,  and  racial  distinctions.  It  will 
be  accomplished  by  education  in  the  broadest 
sense  of  that  word,  and  in  accordance  with  God- 
given  laws  of  mental  and  physical  development. 

This  study  recognizes  the  educational  value  of 
the  preaching  function,  church  services  and  ordi¬ 
nances,  but  it  concerns  itself  particularly  with 
the  schools  as  specialized  educational  agencies 
for  the  social  reconstruction  of  China.  The  way 
in  which  these  various  schools  function  in  the 
process  of  reconstruction  will  be  determined 
somewhat  by  the  attitude  taken  toward  Chinese 
social  development;  it  will  be  determined  also 
by  the  motives  behind  this  missionary  activity. 

An  analysis  of  the  motives  of  Christian  mis¬ 
sions,  from  their  beginning,  is  pertinent  to  our 

17 


18  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


subject  and  has  been  made.  It  occupies  too  much 
space  to  be  incorporated  here.  It  is  necessary, 
however,  to  present  a  few  facts  that  underlie  our 
future  considerations. 

What  impelling  force  has  led  the  Christian 
Church  to  undertake  this  great  task  of  educa¬ 
tion?  What  keeps  individuals  working  at  it  in 
the  face  of  ridicule,  misunderstanding,  opposi¬ 
tion,  slow  gain,  failure,  discouragements,  and  in¬ 
adequate  means?  Apparently  insurmountable 
difficulties  have  failed  to  weaken  this  driving 
impulse,  rather,  they  seem  to  have  strengthened 
it.  Is  there  one  single  motive,  or  are  there  sev¬ 
eral  motives  working  together?  Is  it  possible 
for  us  to  place  our  fingers  on  life-motives  that 
are  responsible  for  this  social  phenomenon? 

Psychology,  or  even  general  knowledge  of  hu¬ 
man  nature,  is  able  to  define  the  motives  of  the 
individual.  Sociology  is  able  to  define  the  mo¬ 
tives  behind  social  phenomena  and  institutions. 
We,  then,  should  be  able  to  analyze  and  classify 
the  motives  of  this  phenomenon  which  deals  with 
the  individual  and  society.  It  will  be  a  distinct 
gain  to  find  that  these  motives  function  accord¬ 
ing  to  definite  and  divine  laws.  We  shall  know 
better  how  to  deal  with  them  and  apply  them  if 
they  follow  well-known  biological  and  psycholog¬ 
ical  laws.  We  shall  then  know  what  reactions  to 
expect  when  certain  emotions  are  stirred. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  19 


At  least  a  brief  answer  to  the  question  of  mo¬ 
tives  is  necessary  because  our  ideals  in  education 
will  be  determined  largely  by  our  motives.  Once 
the  idea  is  grasped,  the  feelings  will  largely  de¬ 
termine  the  force  and  method  of  activity  em¬ 
ployed  in  realizing  the  ideal.  The  character  of 
the  underlying  emotions  will  strongly  affect  the 
character  of  the  work  done.  The  recognition  of 
our  various  motives,  and  the  definite  choice  of 
the  best  motives  is  essential  to  the  study  of  ideals 
and  values. 

The  history  of  missions  shows  that  various 
motives  have  functioned  in  the  spread  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  These  may  be  classified  under  two  heads. 
One  class  of  motives  is  concerned  chiefly  with 
the  advancement  of  the  individual  or  his  social 
group  and  is  interested  in  self  or  in  a  limited 
group.  The  other  class  is  concerned  chiefly  with 
the  welfare  of  the  entire  human  society,  is  inter¬ 
ested  and  acts  for  others,  and  is  an  instinctive, 
manifest  tendency  to  disregard  self  and  class 
associations  and  to  act  for  others.  In  life,  the 
first  is  illustrated  by  the  child’s  love  for  its  parent 
which  depends  largely  on  what  the  child  receives ; 
the  second  is  illustrated  by  the  mother’s  love  for 
the  child  and  depends  more  on  what  she  gives 
than  on  what  she  receives.  In  Christian  missions, 
the  first  is  illustrated  by  the  individual  who  seeks 
his  own  spiritual  development  or  the  advance- 


20  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


ment  of  his  sect  in  missionary  activity ;  the  sec¬ 
ond,  by  the  one  who  engages  in  the  work  purely 
for  what  he  can  give.  The  former  finds  no  wit¬ 
ness  of  God  in  the  ethnic  faiths  of  the  world  and 
regards  Christianity  as  antagonistic  to  these 
faiths ;  the  latter  regards  Christianity  as  comple¬ 
mentary  to  the  truths  which  God  has  revealed  in 
the  development  of  those  other  religions. 

The  difference  between  the  two  groups  is  the 
difference  between  an  iconoclastic  proselytizer 
who  goes  rough-shod  over  native  ideas,  and  Paul 
at  Athens,  as  he  took  men  where  they  were,  led 
them  forward  with  a  new  outlook  on  life,  and  re¬ 
interpreted  their  past  experiences.  One  makes 
an  ardent  sectarian  and  proselytizer  only  a  few 
degrees  removed  from  the  Moslem  fanatic;  the 
other  makes  a  helper  who  seeks  to  uplift  the 
whole  race. 

These  two  groups  of  motives  may  be  described 
as  egoistic  and  altruistic.  They  have  existed 
and  functioned  side  by  side.  It  is  impossible  to 
separate  them  with  scientific  exactness,  but  the 
dominance  by  the  one  or  the  other  is  apparent 
in  the  methods  employed,  the  results  obtained, 
during  different  periods  of  the  spread  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  The  difference  is  apparent  in  the  self- 
centered  propaganda  of  early  Roman,  in  contrast 
with  the  broad  altruism  of  the  apostolic,  period, 
and  the  best  of  modern  missions. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  21 


There  is  still,  perhaps  of  necessity,  a  puzzling 
mixture  of  these  two  groups  of  motives  in  mission 
policies.  We  cannot  separate  them  but  we  can 
choose  which  group  we  shall  cultivate  and  we  can 
decide  which  should  become  dominant.  We  can 
discover  which  is  more  valuable  and  shape  our 
ideals  and  methods  accordingly. 

The  following  summary  of  characteristics  in 
ten  sharp,  double  contrasts,  is  subject  to  some 
modifications.  These  will  help  us  to  determine 
the  values  for  which  we  are  seeking. 

1.  One  group  is  ego-centric ;  the  other  is  alter-centric. 

2.  The  first  characterizes  the  development  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  up  to  adolescence;  the  second  appears  at  ado¬ 
lescence  but  must  be  cultivated  in  order  to  overcome  the 
egoistic  feelings  which  also  take  on  new  vigor  at 
that  time. 

3.  The  first  has  dominated  the  early  development  of 
the  human  race;  the  other  has  become  increasingly 
evident  during  the  last  two  or  three  hundred  years  but 
cannot  yet  be  said  to  control  racial  behaviour. 

4.  (a)  Monarchies,  aristocracies,  and  despotisms 
have  been  at  once,  the  soil  and  the  fruit  of  the  first 
group;  the  second  appears  strongly  in  democracies  and 
its  history  is  synchronous  with  the  modern  trend  toward 
democracy. 

(b)  The  first  is  national  and  racial;  the  second  is 
international. 

5.  With  the  first,  education  has  been  confined  to  a 
few  who  were  to  occupy  positions  of  authority  in  gov¬ 
ernment  or  in  religion ;  with  the  second  has  come  public 
education  of  the  masses  for  social  and  economic  effi¬ 
ciency  and  better  living. 


22  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


6.  The  first  has  shown  little  regard  for  the  rights 
of  men — might  makes  right;  the  second  promises  justice 
to  all  men,  not  simply  charity  for  a  few  who  are  not 
too  proud  to  beg. 

7.  The  first  regards  the  ordinary  human  being  as 
“cannon  fodder*’  to  support  individual,  class  or  national 
ambition,  and  as  of  value  only  so  long  as  he  is  economi¬ 
cally  productive;  the  second  makes  such  a  demand  for 
world-peace  as  the  world  has  never  heard  before,  pro¬ 
tects  the  working  man,  the  child,  the  woman,  and  cares 
for  the  criminal  and  the  defective. 

8.  The  first  rules  by  force  through  fear;  the  second 
rules  by  agreement  and  representation,  through  love. 

9.  The  first  is  competitive  and  its  love  is  selfish; 
the  second  is  co-operative  and  its  love  is  altruistic. 

10.  The  interests  of  the  first  are  selfish,  sectarian, 
partisan;  the  interests  of  the  second  are  unselfish,  hu¬ 
manitarian,  cosmopolitan. 

The  contrasts  might  be  carried  further,  but 
these  are  sufficient  to  give  an  idea  of  comparative 
values  in  the  ideals  and  methods  of  Christian 
education. 

The  frank  choice  of  the  altruistic  motives  as 
the  dominating  motive  force  in  all  missionary 
activity,  particularly  in  Christian  education,  is 
essential  to  the  achievement  of  the  larger  task 
of  Christian  world-missions.  Some  of  the  rea¬ 
sons  for  this  choice  are  as  follows : 

First — Belief  that  this  century  will  see  the 
development  of  this  group  of  instincts  to  a  de¬ 
gree  of  influence  in  human  affairs  hitherto  gen¬ 
erally  thought  impossible.  It  will  hardly  see 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  23 


their  full  development.  They  have  dominated 
to  an  increasingly  greater  extent  individuals 
within  limited  groups.  This  century  finds  na¬ 
tions  and  races  drawing  into  a  relationship  as 
intimate  as  lias  already  been  established  in  com¬ 
plex  modern  society  between  individuals.  These 
instincts  must  function  in  these  new  interna¬ 
tional  relations  if  peace  and  order  are  to  prevail. 

Second — Conviction  that  this  century  will  see 
a  development  in  democracy  that  will  make  mon- 
archs  and  autocrats  in  any  social  institution  evi¬ 
dent  relics  of  the  past  and,  if  tolerated,  will  de¬ 
prive  them  of  everything  except  the  title.  With 
this  development,  will  come  general  education 
that  will  enable  the  individual  to  find  his  highest 
self-realization  in  the  general  welfare  of  society 
and  his  own  free  choice  to  serve  God  and  his  fel¬ 
low-man.  This  can  be  attained  only  by  such 
frank  faith  in  the  power  of  these  motives  and  by 
training  in  them  through  methods  that  are  just 
coming  into  recognition.  Here  seems  to  be  the 
only  solution  of  the  relation  between  the  indi¬ 
vidual  and  society. 

Third — Faith  in  the  Chinese  human  nature 
that  puts  it  on  an  equality  of  possible  attainment 
with  any  other  branch  of  the  great  family  of  na¬ 
tions,  and  on  a  full  acknowledgment  of  the 
moral  and  spiritual  values  which  they  have  al¬ 
ready  attained.  There  is  reason  to  fear  that 


24  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


Christian  education  in  China  is  forcing  its  own 
ideals  into  existing  institutions  as  it  finds  them, 
without  sufficient  sympathetic  study  to  discover 
the  real  value  to  the  people.  The  discovery  and 
use  of  these  points  of  contact  in  the  Chinese  life 
and  institutions  is  the  only  way  to  make  it  pos¬ 
sible  for  individuals  to  adapt  and  assimilate  our 
contributions  of  truth.  This  choice  is  necessary 
in  order  to  discover  and  indicate  some  of  these 
points  of  contact  that  will  relate  the  work  of 
Christian  education  more  closely  to  the  life  of 
the  people. 

Fourth — Desire  to  protest  against  a  spirit  of 
religious  authority  and  superiority  in  Christian 
education  which  results  in  proselytism  rather 
than  in  evangelism,  and  against  an  authority  in 
education  that  stifles  independent  thought  and 
investigation;  makes  a  nation  of  parrots  and 
book-worms ;  fails  to  educate  for  the  real  tasks  of 
life;  lives  in  the  past  instead  of  the  present  and 
the  future;  puts  a  premium  on  selfishness,  self¬ 
advancement,  and  social  climbing;  results  in  an 
intellectual  aristocracy;  ignores  the  signs  of  the 
times  which  show  that  the  world  is  working  along 
the  lines  of  God’s  purpose  regardless  of  the  hin¬ 
drances  of  social,  religious,  and  intellectual  caste, 
toward  a  truer  recognition  of  the  brotherhood  of 
all  races  and  the  fatherhood  of  God  as  Jesus  un- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  25 

derstood  and  revealed  them  both  in  his  life  and 
teaching. 

Fifth — Our  objective  which  is  the  realization 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  over  all  the  earth.  It  is 
not  ignoring  God’s  place  in  this  new  era  if  we  call 
it  the  “democracy  of  God.”  If  our  forecast  of 
the  future  is  right,  the  phrase  “kingdom”  of  God 
will  carry  little  significance  to  an  age  of  world- 
democracy  that  knows  kingdoms  only  through 
history.  These  motives  are  the  only  ones  that 
can  bring  us  to  the  realization  of  that  objective. 
Sectarian,  partisan,  national  and  racial  instincts 
will  never  attain  it,  however  necessary  they  may 
be  in  the  preliminary  stages  of  the  process. 
These  motives  are  spiritual  and  are  the  only 
available  religious  sanctions  that  will  function  in 
the  new  world-society  of  this  century  with  force 
sufficient  for  humanity  to  realize  the  “King¬ 
dom  of  God.”  There  must  always  be  religious 
sanctions  to  give  permanence  and  direction  to 
social  progress,  but  the  ego-centric  sanctions 
must  give  place  to  the  cosmo-centric  sanctions. 
Social  motives  must  function  in  conscious  rela¬ 
tion  to  the  whole  universe  of  God’s  truth.  Mo¬ 
tives  shape  ideals  and  determine  relative  values. 

Why,  then,  Christian  missions  in  general? 
Why  Christian  education  in  particular?  Such 
movements  can  be  understood  only  in  their  mo- 


26  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


live  forces,  and  these  lie  back  in  primary  in¬ 
stincts  and  feelings  which  are  an  essential  part 
of  God’s  original  endowment  of  the  human  race. 
The  egoistic  and  small  group  instincts  have 
played  the  dominant  part  in  the  spread  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  The  altruistic  instincts  and  the  larger 
racial  instincts  have  always  been  present,  and 
have  steadily  gained  in  strength  and  influence, 
until  they  promise  to  become  dominant  in  the 
program  of  Christian  missions  and  Christian 
education  in  mission  lands. 


CHAPTER  III 


CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  ITS  AIMS 

Christian  or  missionary  educational  work  in 
China  is  small  when  compared  with  the  nation’s 
great  task  of  educating  a  school  population  of 
approximately  100,000,000.  This  task  may  be 
better  grasped  by  comparing  it  with  popular  edu¬ 
cation  in  the  United  States  where,  according  to 
the  1920  census,  there  are  over  33,000,000  be¬ 
tween  the  ages  of  5  and  20  years  and  only 
21,000,000  enrolled  in  the  schools. 

Christian  education  reports  in  the  1920  survey 
of  the  China  Continuation  Committee,  approxi¬ 
mately  300,000  pupils,  including  the  Roman 
Catholic  schools.  About  160,000  are  in  Protest¬ 
ant  mission  schools.  The  Chinese  Ministry  of 
Education  (1916)  reported  approximately  4,000,- 
000  enrolled  out  of  the  100,000,000  school  popula¬ 
tion.  The  number  of  pupils  in  mission  schools 
is  comparatively  very  small,  but  the  influence 
of  these  schools  has  been  and  is  very  great.  How 
long  Christian  education  continues  to  hold  this 
influential  position,  depends  on  the  modification 

of  its  motives,  aims,  ideals,  and  methods. 

27 


28  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


What  educational  aims  and  ideals  are  essen¬ 
tial  to  Christian  evangelism  in  contrast  with 
Christian  proselytisin?  What  ideals  have  been 
predominant  under  the  impelling  power  of  the 
egoistic  group-instincts?  What  ideals  of  educa¬ 
tion  are  the  product  of  the  altruistic  instincts? 
Western  educational  aims  and  ideals  are  under¬ 
going  searching  criticism  and  revision.  There  is 
already,  in  China,  a  critical  problem  of  adjust¬ 
ment  between  missionary  and  government  educa¬ 
tional  ideals.  Pressure  from  these  two  angles 
makes  it  impossible  for  Christian  educational 
ideals  to  remain  unchanged.  The  problem,  as 
stated,  opens  a  large  field  for  study.  The  defini¬ 
tion  of  motives  should  guide  in  the  definition  as 
well  as  choice  of  aims  and  ideals. 

A  clear,  definite  aim  is  a  necessary  step  in  the 
process  by  which  the  emotions  change  ideas  into 
ideals.  This  definition  of  our  aim  is  the  first 
step  in  the  solution  of  the  problem  before  us. 
The  aim  is  the  standard  by  which  we  measure 
our  educational  activities  and  discover  whether 
they  are  simply  producing  results  or  are  actually 
achieving  the  ends  we  desire. 

The  general  “aim  of  education  is  to  enable 
individuals  to  continue  their  education — or  the 
object  and  reward  of  learning  is  continued  ca¬ 
pacity  for  growth.”  “In  our  search  for  aims  in 
education,  we  are  not  concerned,  therefore,  with 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  29 


finding  an  end  outside  of  the  educative  process  to 
which  education  is  subordinate.”  1  These  are 
considerations  which  belong  to  a  democratic  so¬ 
ciety  and  to  the  spirit  of  democracy  that  is  grip¬ 
ping  the  Far  East  today.  China  is  nominally  a 
republic.  From  autocratic  Japan  there  come 
very  definite  evidences  of  a  strong  democratic 
movement.  Our  objective  is  a  Christian  world- 
democracy.  Our  definition  of  aims  for  this  cen¬ 
tury  must  have  these  important  facts  constantly 
in  mind. 

In  seeking  to  analyze,  define  and  classify  the 
aims  of  Christian  education  in  China,  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  first  to  distinguish  between  educational 
effort  which  simply  produces  “results”  and  that 
which  really  accomplishes  a  definite  “end.” 
What  portion,  if  any,  of  the  educational  work 
that  is  now  being  done,  or  that  has  been  done,  is, 
after  all,  largely  an  exhibition  of  energy?  Vis¬ 
ible  results  were  achieved  but  what  is  the  actual 
value  of  those  results  in  the  forward  movement 
toward  a  definite  goal  ?  This  last  question  raises 
another  regarding  the  continuity  of  the  educa¬ 
tional  work  being  done.  Does  the  demand  for 
results  crowd  out  of  mind  the  deliberate  planning 
for  comprehensive  ends  and  the  preservation  of 
a  continuity  essential  to  the  growth  desired  in 
the  general  purpose  of  education? 

1  See  Appendix  for  References. 


SO  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


To  give  point  to  these  questions,  the  following 
quotations  are  pertinent  and  suggestive : 

To  talk  about  an  educational  aim  when  approximately 
each  act  of  the  pupil  is  dictated  by  the  teacher,  when 
the  only  order  in  the  sequence  of  his  acts  is  that  which 
comes  from  the  assignment  of  lessons  and  the  giving 
of  directions  by  another,  is  to  talk  nonsense. 

It  is  equally  fatal  to  an  aim  to  permit  capricious  or 
discontinuous  action  in  the  name  of  spontaneous  self- 
expression. 

An  aim  implies  an  orderly  and  ordered  activity,  one 
in  which  the  order  consists  in  the  progressive  complet¬ 
ing  of  a  process.2 

This  is  not  a  surprising  discovery  nor  an  un¬ 
sympathetic  criticism.  The  writer  has  been 
through  the  swirl  of  the  machinery  in  all  its 
phases,  except  in  the  girls’  schools.  He  succeeded 
in  getting  results  but  is  certain  that  his  aim  had 
little  of  the  real  aim  of  modern  education.  The 
result  was  a  tremendous  waste  of  energy  and 
possibilities.  It  is  hard  for  the  Christian  edu¬ 
cator  to  see  that  his  work  has  been  aimless,  but 
he  cannot  refuse  to  bring  it  to  the  test  of  modern 
educational  aims.  There  is  of  necessity  no  per¬ 
sonal  disgrace  in  the  situation.  The  large  major¬ 
ity  of  men  engaged  in  educational  work  in  China, 
like  the  writer,  went  to  the  field  as  preachers 
primarily.  They  had  no  special  training  for  edu¬ 
cational  work,  having  gone  from  theological  semi¬ 
naries  right  to  the  field.  A  young  man  went  fresh 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  31 


from  the  study  of  theology,  philosophy,  Hebrew 
and  Greek  to  establish  a  boys’  academy  in  China. 
Now,  a  theological  course  is  not  sufficient  pro¬ 
fessional  training  for  the  principal  of  a  high 
school  in  America — nothing  short  of  a  miracle 
would  make  it  sufficient  on  the  mission  field.  To 
the  unbiased  observer  it  suggests  the  question  as 
to  both  the  aim  and  the  consequences  of  such 
practice.  The  facts  must  be  faced  sympathetic¬ 
ally  and  courageously,  as  well  as  in  humility. 

Other  phases  of  the  situation  are  responsible 
for  the  charge  that  Christian  education  lacks  the 
definite  aim  which  is  possible  for  modern  educa¬ 
tion.  Many  men  are  forced  into  educational 
work  who  not  only  are  not  prepared  for  it  but 
who  do  not  wish  to  do  it.  They  take  it  up  feeling 
that  they  have  made  a  great  sacrifice  in  order  to 
keep  an  established  school  running  until  some¬ 
one  else  can  be  secured.  Men  who  are  in  charge 
of  schools  and  colleges  finished  their  education 
before  the  recent  educational  reformation  began, 
and  they  are  working  along  the  line  of  the  tradi¬ 
tional  aims  by  which  they  were  educated.  The 
pressure  of  the  work  has  made  it  impossible  for 
such  men  to  get  more  than  a  suggestion  now  and 
then  as  to  methods  or  devices  that  help  in  the 
classroom. 

It  is  almost  impossible  for  a  man  in  active 
service  to  get  at  the  fundamental  principles  of 


32  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


modern  education,  in  its  moral  and  religious  bear¬ 
ings.  There  was  no  perspective  for  a  scientific 
definition  of  aims.  The  only  alternative  was  the 
choice  of  aims  which  came  from  outside  the  edu¬ 
cative  process.  There  has  also  been  a  temptation, 
not  always  resisted,  for  those  who  have  acquired 
some  proficiency  of  method  through  normal  train¬ 
ing  in  the  home-land,  to  force  those  methods  or 
systems,  unmodified,  on  the  educational  work  in 
China,  There  seemed  to  be  nothing  else  that  they 
could  do.  The  situation  is  changing  and  a  gen¬ 
eral  appreciation  of  these  facts  by  critics  on  the 
one  hand,  and  the  frank  acknowledgment  of 
limitations  and  deficiencies  by  those  who  are  now 
trying  to  do  the  work,  will  facilitate  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  greater  unity  of  purpose  and  effort.  In 
the  light  of  these  facts,  there  need  be  no  surprise 
at  nor  resentment  of  the  claim  that  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  in  China  lacks  a  clear,  comprehensive  aim. 
The  way  to  remedy  these  conditions  is  important 
— the  task  belongs  to  those  who  select  and  train 
missionaries. 

An  examination  of  ten  catalogs  of  mission  col¬ 
leges  in  China  shows  two  without  any  statement 
of  aims;  eight  give  the  following  more  or  less 
direct  statements  which  are  probably  not  fully 
descriptive  of  the  general  attitude  of  those  who 
formulated  them.  Of  course,  it  is  not  absolutely 
necessary  that  those  catalogs  reveal  the  aim  of 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  S3 


the  institutions,  but  if  that  aim  is  very  clearly 
outlined  in  the  minds  of  those  promoting  the 
work  it  is  very  likely  to  appear  in  the  form  of 
a  definite  statement. 

“The  extension  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  by 
means  of  education.”  “The  spread  and  increase 
of  the  Redeemer’s  Kingdom  upon  earth.”  Do 
these  express  the  idea  of  extension  of  boundary 
from  West  to  East,  or  do  they  convey  the  idea 
of  growth  from  within? 

“To  send  bright  beams  of  light  and  truth 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land 
and  to  prepare  some  of  the  picked  young  men  of 
China  for  useful  service  in  the  Church  and 
State.”  “Furtherance  of  the  cause  of  Christ  in 
China;  advance  in  education  necessary  to  pro¬ 
vide  trained  leadership  for  Christian  service,  pro¬ 
motion  of  higher  education  under  Christian  influ¬ 
ence.”  Are  not  these  aims  frankly  external, 
from  the  viewpoint  of  the  Chinese? 

“To  help  a  sister  nation  in  this  transition  pe¬ 
riod  in  her  history.”  “China’s  benefit :  harmony 
and  liberty  in  religion  and  politics.”  “To  relieve 
China’s  need,  to  aid  in  development  of  China’s 
various  resources,  material  and  spiritual,  and  to 
build  up  a  permanent  international  friendship.” 
“To  prepare  students  for  the  highest  service  to 
their  own  country;  to  secure  the  moral  develop¬ 
ment  of  each  student;  to  prepare  young  men  for 


34  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


a  useful  life;  to  teach  them  to  look  upon  life  as 
a  service  to  others.”  China’s  welfare  seems  to 
be  the  primary  consideration.  No  propaganda 
asks  for  returns,  and  growth  from  within  seems 
to  be  the  method. 

How  many  of  these  statements  were  formu¬ 
lated  out  of  a  thorough  knowledge  of  modern 
educational  aims?  They  were  certainly  formu¬ 
lated  by  earnest,  faithful  men.  Piety  and  zeal 
are  needed  but  thorough  professional  training 
in  education  is  also  needed  if  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  is  to  take  its  proper  place  beside  public 
education. 

Definite  statements  from  those  engaged  in  pri¬ 
mary  and  elementary  education  are  not  available 
and  would  be  found  to  vary,  but  would  probably 
be  in  substantial  agreement  in  regarding  this 
great  field  as  an  adjunct  to  the  church,  a  field 
from  which  to  draw  material  for  church  mem¬ 
bers.  The  schools  are  often  regarded  as  a  means 
of  building  up  the  organized  Church  and,  among 
those  who  so  regard  them,  there  is  much  differ¬ 
ence  of  opinion  as  to  their  real  value  even  in 
this  capacity. 

In  some  of  the  largest  denominations  working 
in  China,  there  has  been  practically  no  uniform¬ 
ity  or  co-ordination  among  the  schools  until  with¬ 
in  the  last  eight  years.  There  have  been  gaps 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  35 


between  the  day  schools  and  the  academies  and 
between  the  academies  and  the  colleges.  It  was 
difficult  to  get  even  this  degree  of  unity. 

The  reports  of  conferences,  the  China  Mission 
Year  Books,  and  committee  reports,  throw  light 
on  the  question  of  aims.  The  reports  of  the  first 
general  missionary  conference  held  in  Shanghai 
in  1890,  show  that  some  individuals  saw  clearly 
the  important  phases  of  education.  Appeals  were 
made  for  unity  in  method  and  terminology  and 
for  co-operation.  That  they  were  answered  very 
slowly  is  apparent  from  thqir  recurrence  in  the 
Centenary  Conference  held  at  Shanghai  in  1907. 
Nothing  in  the  records  of  either  conference  re¬ 
veals  any  attempt  to  formulate  a  comprehensive 
educational  aim.  If  sympathy  and  helpful  co¬ 
operation  are  to  prevail,  such  a  statement  is 
needed  and  is  possible. 

The  China  Mission  Year  Book  was  issued  first 
in  1910.  The  space  which  it  has  given  to  the  re¬ 
ports  on  Christian  education  is  significant.  Al¬ 
though  there  were  reports  of  schools  and  of  the 
educational  work  by  the  several  missions,  there 
was  no  special  chapter  on  “General  Education” 
until  1915,  then  it  was  separate  from  “Religious 
Education.” 

In  the  1915  Year  Book,  page  381,  we  find  the 
statement:  “Through  our  schools  and  colleges 


36  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


we  have  the  opportunity  of  helping  to  develop 
Christian  character  in  our  students,  and  of  pro¬ 
ducing  men  and  women  who  will  be  of  real  serv¬ 
ice  to  their  country.  .  .  .  They  should  be  the 
ideals  of  education,  especially  of  our  missionary 
education.”  This  sounds  like  a  primary  aim  and 
has  much  to  commend  it,  but  the  explanatory 
ph  rase,  “who  are  to  be  of  service  in  the  Church,” 
reveals  a  secondary  aim  which  comes  from  out¬ 
side  of  the  educational  process. 

There  was  much  effort  to  secure  some  uni¬ 
formity  of  curricula  in  the  various  mission 
schools  and,  beginning  with  1911,  there  was  a 
strong  movement  to  accomplish  some  degree  of 
practical  co-operation,  but  the  reports  and  the 
minutes  of  the  meeting  show  no  comprehensive 
study  and  discussion  of  aims.  This  seems  to  be 
taken  for  granted. 

The  National  Conference  of  the  China  Continu¬ 
ation  Committee  held  its  first  meeting  at  Shang¬ 
hai  in  1913.  It  was  a  conference  of  missionary 
experts  but  not  a  general  conference.  There  were 
good  reasons  why  this  should  be  the  case.  Mak¬ 
ing  allowance  for  a  certain  amount  of  dissent 
from  the  findings  of  this  conference,  it  is  prob¬ 
ably  the  most  representative  and  progressive 
statement  secured  from  the  missionary  body  in 
China,  up  to  that  time. 

The  preamble  to  the  section  on  Education  says : 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  37 


The  aim  of  Christian  education  is  the  development 
of  Christian  character  in  all  who  come  within  its  reach ; 
the  training  of  youths  for  lives  of  the  highest  usefulness ; 
and  the  production  of  Christian  scholars  and  of  Chris¬ 
tian  leaders  in  Church  and  State.  To  this  end  two 
things  are  essential :  a  thoroughly  Christian  atmosphere, 
and  the  highest  educational  efficiency  in  all  our  insti¬ 
tutions.  We  firmly  believe  that  evangelistic  and  edu¬ 
cational  work  are  both  included  in  the  great  commis¬ 
sion,  and  that  the  success  of  evangelistic  work  largely 
depends  on  the  efficiency  of  educational  work,  and 
that  to  secure  such  efficiency,  union  is  highly  desirable. 

The  attitude  expressed  in  the  aim  is  more 
nearly  that  of  a  force  working  within  the  Chi¬ 
nese  people  than  any  previous  statements  have 
been.  It  is,  at  least,  a  movement  toward  definite¬ 
ness  and  co-ordination.  There  is  a  desire  for 
these,  and  an  effort  to  promote  them,  by  some. 
That  these  desirable  ends  were  not  attained  is 
evident  in  the  findings  of  the  committee  in  1914, 
a  year  later. 

This  Committee  would  call  the  attention  of  the  Mis¬ 
sion  Boards  and  the  Missions  on  the  field  to  the  report 
of  the  Advisory  Council  of  the  Educational  Association 
of  China,  and  would  strongly  emphasize  the  importance 
of  the  proposed  campaign  for  the  improvement  of  Chris¬ 
tian  elementary  education  in  China.  .  .  .  To  this  end 
we  would  urge  a  careful  investigation  by  each  Mission 
into  the  present  condition  of  its  elementary  school.3 

The  report  referred  to  contains  a  “constructive 
program  for  Elementary  Schools  Standardiza- 


38  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

tion,”  which  was  prepared  by  Dr.  F.  D.  Game- 
well,  Secretary  of  the  China  Christian  Educa¬ 
tional  Association  and  presented  in  May,  1914. 
The  program  recommends  Uniform  Courses  of 
study,  Teachers’  Training  Classes,  a  Board  of 
Control  to  deal  with  important  detail  of  location, 
equipment,  and  administration. 

The  1916  Year  Book,  on  page  393,  reports  the 
efforts  made  to  secure  a  commission  of  educa¬ 
tional  experts  to  make  a  thorough  study  of  the 
higher  educational  institutions  similar  to  the  ef¬ 
forts  already  made  in  November,  1915.  Until 
1921,  only  one  member  of  the  commission  sug¬ 
gested  (Professor  T.  H.  P.  Sailer)  was  able  to 
visit  the  field  and  report.  (Professor  Sailer, 
however,  visited  the  field  independently  of  this 
commission. ) 

The  Educational  Association  and  the  Continu¬ 
ation  Committee  united  in  urging  that  “as  soon 
as  possible,  arrangements  should  be  made  for 
carrying  out  the  general  survey  of  the  present 
status  of  Christian  educational  work  in  China.”  4 
This  survey  was  made  in  1921-22  by  the  Educa¬ 
tional  Commission  under  the  leadership  of  Pro¬ 
fessor  Ernest  D.  Burton  and  the  report  was  pub¬ 
lished  too  recently  to  be  incorporated  in  this 
study. 

Professor  Sailer’s  personal  judgment  of  the 
condition  of  Christian  education  in  China  has 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  39 


been  given  to  the  public  through  several  publica¬ 
tions.  He  says: 

The  first  impression  is  that  we  have  not  yet  come 
to  a  clear  concensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  aims  of  our 
educational  work.  Aims  immediate  and  aims  ultimate 
are  sometimes  confused,  and  policies  as  a  whole  seem  too 
opportunist.5 

The  special  commission  appointed  to  study  the 
middle  schools  reports  that  it 

received  the  impression  that  at  least  in  details  much 
missionary  education  is  going  more  or  less  wide  the 
mark.  Many  schools  seem  to  be  following  traditional 
methods  without  sufficient  reason,  or  are  deliberately 
aiming  at  American  models  which  were  not  devised  to 
meet  Chinese  conditions.  .  .  .  Aims  need  to  be  more 
definite.6 

The  aims  as  stated  in  the  catalog,  or  by  the  principal, 
did  not  always  agree  with  the  type  of  curriculum. v 

It  is  evident  that  Christian  education  in  China 
is  just  now  entering  upon  a  stage  of  self-investi¬ 
gation  and  reconstruction.  Courage  for  the  task 
comes  when  it  is  remembered  that,  in  both  Eng¬ 
land  and  America,  educators  are  “with  much 
hesitation  but  on  the  whole  with  successful  adap¬ 
tation  of  existing  agencies  to  new  needs,”  work¬ 
ing  “toward  a  clearer  definition  of  educational 
ends.”  7 

What  are  the  reasons  for  this  condition  of 
affairs  in  Christian  education  in  China?  There 


40  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


are  reasons  that  lie  deeper  than  the  personal  con¬ 
siderations  described  above. 

The  first  reason  is  that  the  earlier  conflict 
between  religions  education  and  general  educa¬ 
tion  in  the  West  has  been  transferred  to  the  mis¬ 
sion  field.  It  is  not  to  our  purpose  here  to  dis¬ 
cuss  the  elements  of  this  conflict.8  Its  prejudices 
and  misconceptions  have  been  largely  responsible 
for  much  of  the  present  confusion. 

The  second  reason  for  the  lack  of  definite,  com¬ 
prehensive  aim  in  Christian  education  is  the  lack 
of  reliable  data.  The  critical  study  of  methods 
and  results,  with  careful  records  of  the  same,  the 
history  and  philosophy  of  education,  comparative 
study  of  educational  systems,  are  all  very  recent 
developments.  It  has  become  possible  to  formu¬ 
late  our  educational  aims  much  more  clearly  and 
broadly  only  in  the  light  of  the  facts  which  these 
studies  have  revealed.  It  is  generally  agreed  that 
all  education  is,  more  or  less,  open  to  the  criti¬ 
cism  we  are  considering  with  relation  to  Chris¬ 
tian  education  in  China. 

The  third  reason  outweighs  all  other  consider¬ 
ations.  It  is  found  in  the  place  too  generally 
assigned  to  education  in  the  plan  of  Christian 
propaganda.  It  carries  us  back  again  to  the  self- 
centered  group-instincts  of  denomination  in  con¬ 
flict  with  denomination,  and  to  the  larger  group- 
antagonism  between  the  Christian  and  the  non- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  41 


Christian  civilizations.  It  is  one  thing  to  regard 
the  schools  as  inducements  to  attract  individuals 
within  the  reach  of  the  evangelizing  machinery 
■ — an  adjunct  to  the  church.  It  is  quite  another 
thing  to  regard  the  schools  as  themselves  the  ef¬ 
fective  media  of  Christian  evangelism.  The  aim 
of  the  first  is  not  primarily  education  but  prose- 
ly tism ;  the  aim  of  the  second  is  evangelism  and, 
therefore,  educational  in  the  sense  of  modern  re¬ 
ligious  education. 

For  instance,  in  the  Handbook  for  1896,  one 
denomination  reports,  “we  had  from  one  to  four 
day  schools  but  when  interest  lags  or  when  they 
have  served  their  purpose  which  is  usually  for 
the  opening  of  a  new  station,  they  are  given  up.” 
A  paper  read  before  the  Shanghai  conference  in 
1890  describes  the  mission  schools  as  “valuable 
auxiliaries”  and  tells  how  they  open  the  way  to 
reach  the  Chinese  for  more  direct  evangelistic 
effort  through  the  English  language.  Another 
paper  was  read  by  one  of  the  leading  educators, 

Dr.  C.  W.  Mateer,  entitled  “How  May  Educa- 

\ 

tional  Work  be  Made  Most  to  Advance  the  Cause 
of  Christianity  in  China?”  His  answer  is  to  edu¬ 
cate  thoroughly,  in  the  Chinese  language  and 
under  Christian  influence.  He  condemns  as 
“vicious”  the  use  of  schools  simply  to  teach  Chris¬ 
tian  doctrine,  and  his  own  educational  work  has 
been  among  the  most  influential  in  China.  But 


42  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


what  he  condemns  has  gone  on  to  a  greater  or  less 
degree  in  nearly  all  schools  and  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at,  when  the  objective  is  so  plainly 
stated  as  in  this  title.  Whatever  was  done,  was 
done  primarily  for  the  propagation  of  Christian¬ 
ity.  Is  it  not  evident  how  greatly  this  differs 
from  dealing  with  the  life-problems  of  the  Chi¬ 
nese  people  in  the  light  of  the  life  and  teachings 
of  Jesus  Christ?  A  study  of  various  reports, 
papers,  and  conferences  on  educational  work, 
shows  that  both  viewpoints  have  been  within  the 
range  of  vision  of  many  leading  missionaries,  but 
the  same  study  leaves  one  with  the  feeling  that 
the  verbal,  symbolic  interpretation  of  Christian¬ 
ity  has  been  emphasized  more  than  the  vital,  ex¬ 
perimental.  “The  New  Educational  Movement 
in  China”  is  regarded  as  the  “Great  Opportunity 
for  Christian  Missions,”  and  the  emphasis  is 
placed  on  the  “Value  of  Christian  Education  in 
Providing  Leaders  for  Church  and  State.”  9  Con¬ 
sideration  of  the  reaction  of  the  Chinese  to  this 
program  seems  to  be  lacking  in  these  statements 
of  mission  policy. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  these  references  fail  to 
express  all  that  was  in  the  minds  of  the  authors. 
However,  it  is  believed  that  they  reveal  an  atti¬ 
tude  of  mind  that  has  confused  ultimate  ends 
and  real  values  in  Christian  education.  That 
this  attitude  has  been  slowly  undergoing  a 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  43 


change  that  will  be  completed  in  this  century, 
through  the  influence  of  present  ideals  of  re¬ 
ligious  and  general  education,  is  also  apparent. 
With  all  appreciation  for  the  successes  that  have 
been  won  by  Christian  education,  the  change  of 
emphasis  will  make  it  possible  to  do  greater 
things  and  bring  to  the  Chinese  people  even  more 
abundantly  of  the  abundant  life  which  Jesus 
came  to  bring  to  all  mankind. 

Recognition  of  the  distinction  which  we  have 
endeavored  to  make  is  evident  in  the  observa¬ 
tions  of  Professor  W.  A.  Brown  during  his  visit 
to  the  Far  East  in  1916. 

There  are  two  theories  of  the  relation  of  missions  to 
education.  According  to  one  theory  education  is  simply 
an  adjunct  to  evangelization.  Schools  are  founded  and 
hospitals  and  other  helpful  social  agencies  established 
because  they  provide  a  point  of  contact  with  individuals. 
Thfe  direct  benefits  which  they  may  render  are  only 
incidental.  .  .  .  According  to  the  other  theory  the  work 
of  Christian  missions  consists  not  only  in  evangeliza¬ 
tion,  but  also  in  giving  an  example  of  the  true  nature 
of  Christian  civilization.10 

The  first  thinks  of  Christianity  as  something 
apart  from  human  life ;  the  second  thinks  of  the 
Christian  religion  simply  as  a  way  of  realizing 
life  at  its  best.  The  first  regards  Christianity 
as  an  end  in  itself;  the  second  regards  it  as  a 
means  to  the  more  abundant  life  which  is  the 
objective.  Dr.  Brown  cites  illustrations  of  this 


44  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


conflict  of  opinion  between  the  missionaries  and 
shows  very  wittily  how  it  works  out  in  medical 
missions,  particularly  with  relation  to  the  China 
Medical  Board.  Those  who  hold  the  former 
theory 

fear  that  if  the  medical  work  of  the  mission  is  to  be 
subjected  to  the  purely  scientific  standards  of  the 
(Rockefeller)  Foundation,  the  evangelistic  interest 
will  suffer.  If  they  must  choose  between  a  good  doctor 
who  is  a  poor  Christian,  and  a  good  Christian  who  is 
a  poor  doctor,  they  believe  it  is  our  duty  as  Christians 
to  choose  the  good  Christian — that  is  to  say,  for  the 
Chinese.11 

One  cannot  refrain  from  asking,  why  must  it 
be  a  choice?  What  is  the  matter  with  our  re¬ 
ligion  or  our  judgment  that  makes  it  necessary  to 
make  a  choice?  Is  it  not  possible  to  have  doctors 
and  teachers  who  are  the  best  professionally  as 
well  as  religiously? 

Professor  Brown  says  that  “the  leaders  of  the 
missionary  cause  are  committed  to  it  (the  latter 
theory).  There  is  only  one  thing  to  be  done:  to 
recognize  the  new  conditions  as  facts  which  have 
to  be  faced;  to  adjust  our  methods  accordingly.” 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  his  judgment  is  correct  but 
it  means  such  an  overhauling  of  aims  and  ideals 
as  is  not  apparent  at  first  thought.  If  underly¬ 
ing  principles  are  not  clearly  grasped,  there  will 
be  sinful  waste  in  the  process  of  transition. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  45 

In  the  definition  and  choice  of  aims  some  valu¬ 
able  considerations  are  to  be  found  in  Professor 
John  Dewey’s  chapter  on  “Aims  in  Education.” 
In  the  process  of  education,  we  are  dealing  with 
natural  God-given  traits,  instincts,  and  feelings. 
Christian  education  must,  therefore,  keep  close 
to  a  clear  understanding  of  these  natural  psychic 
phenomena. 

The  functions  of  the  aim  are  three  in  number : 

1.  It  involves  careful  observation  of  the  given  con¬ 
ditions  to  see  what  are  the  means  available  for  reaching 
the  end,  and  to  discover  the  hindrances  in  the  way. 

2.  It  suggests  the  proper  order  of  sequence  in  the 
use  of  means  and  facilitates  an  economical  selection 
and  arrangement. 

3.  It  makes  choice  of  alternative  possible.12 

Professor  Dewey  suggests,  also,  three  criteria 
of  good  aims: 

1.  The  aim  set  up  must  be  an  outgrowth  of  existing 
conditions. 

2.  The  aim  must  be  flexible,  and  able  to  change  con¬ 
ditions.  ...  A  good  aim  surveys  the  present  state 
of  experience  of  pupils,  and  forming  a  tentative  plan 
of  treatment,  keeps  the  plan  constantly  in  view  and 
yet  modifies  it  as  conditions  develop.  ...  It  is  ex¬ 
perimental,  and  hence  constantly  growing  as  it  is  tested 
in  action. 

3.  The  aim  must  always  represent  a  freeing  of  activ¬ 
ities. 

It  should  not  be  simply  that  activity  is  now 
necessary  to  achieve  some  distant  desire  though 


46  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


that  must  be  present  also.  But  there  must  be 
an  aim  that  includes  the  present  activity.  The 
course  should  provide  for  activities,  step  by  step, 
that  are  satisfying  and  carry  a  reward  in  them¬ 
selves  and  which  at  the  same  time  make  for  the 
ultimate  goal. 

The  characteristics  of  good  educational  aims: 

1.  Must  be  founded  upon  the  intrinsic  activities  and 
needs  (including  original  instincts  and  acquired  habits) 
of  the  given  individual  to  be  educated. 

2.  Must  be  capable  of  co-operation  with  the  activities 
of  those  undergoing  instruction.  .  .  .  Until  the  dem¬ 
ocratic  criterion  of  the  intrinsic  significance  of  every 
growing  experience  is  recognized,  we  shall  be  intellec¬ 
tually  confused  by  the  demand  for  adaptation  to  ex¬ 
ternal  aims. 

3.  Must  not  be  so  general  or  abstract  that  it  becomes 
remote  and  throws  us  back,  once  more,  upon  teaching 
and  learning  as  mere  means  of  getting  ready  for  an 
end  disconnected  from  the  means.  .  .  .  That  educa¬ 
tion  is  literally  and  all  the  time  its  own  reward  means 
that  no  alleged  study  or  discipline  is  educative  unless 
it  is  worth  while  in  its  own  immediate  having.  A  truly 
general  aim  broadens  the  outlook;  it  stimulates  one  to 
take  more  consequences  into  account.  This  means  a 
wider  and  more  flexible  observation  of  means.  .  .  . 
The  fuller  one’s  conception  of  possible  achievements, 
the  less  his  present  activity  is  tied  down  to  a  small 
number  of  alternatives. 

Yet  it  must  be  “general  or  comprehensive  in 
the  sense  of  a  broad  survey  of  the  field  of  present 
activities.” 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  47 


These  suggestions  as  to  the  functions,  criteria, 
and  characteristics  of  good  educational  aims, 
stimulate  some  practical  questions  concerning 
Christian  education  in  China. 

To  what  extent  have  the  various  aims  “involved 
the  careful  observation  of  the  conditions”  in 
China  which  advance  and  hinder?  How  much 
data  from  such  observations  is  available?  Is  it 
not  true  that  the  concern  has  chiefly  been  to  graft 
Western  educational  material  on  the  existing 
conditions  rather  than  carefully  to  study  these 
for  helps  and  hindrances?  Why  is  it  that  some 
missionaries  regard  the  educational  work  as 
wasteful  and  unfruitful?  Allowing  for  certain 
predispositions  of  mind  on  their  part,  have  these 
individuals  been  entirely  wrong  in  their  criti¬ 
cisms  of  the  educational  work?  Is  it  not  possible 
that  the  aims  have  failed  to  suggest  proper  order 
and  sequence  in  the  use  of  means?  Have  the  se¬ 
lections  and  arrangement  of  subject  matter, 
method,  etc.,  been  economical  or  have  they  been 
wasteful?  Have  the  alternatives  been  apparent, 
or  have  there  been  simply  one  or  two  traditional 
methods  that  have  been  accepted  as  authority  and 
obediently,  if  not, blindly,  followed? 

Were  the  aims  taken  with  us  from  the  West, 
an  out-growth  of  the  developments  in  a  nominally 
Christian  civilization,  or  have  they  grown  out  of 
the  conditions  in  China?  There  have  been  modi- 


48  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

fications  but  have  they  been  sufficiently  flexible 
to  meet  the  new  conditions?  Have  they  been  as 
potent  in  changing  these  conditions  as  they 
should  have  been?  Where  would  China  be  to¬ 
day,  had  there  been  only  the  influence  of  Chris¬ 
tian  education  at  work?  Have  our  aims  made 
our  education  experimental  and  increasingly 
more  useful,  or  have  they  tended  to  crystallize 
and  take  on  orthodox  forms  of  subject  matter, 
curricula,  and  methods?  Have  they  resulted  in 
activities  that,  step  by  step,  have  been  worth 
while  to  the  pupils,  or  have  they  placed  the 
reward  of  the  daily  activity  far  ahead  in  the 
future  years  under  conditions  which  the  majority 
of  the  pupils  never  can  or  do  attain? 

How  intimately  does  the  average  educationist 
know  the  original  instincts  and  acquired  habits 
of  the  given  individual?  The  psychological 
studies  of  the  last  ten  years  have  revealed  to  us 
how  little  we  have  really  understood  our  own 
children.  There  has  been  no  such  study  of  the 
Chinese  children  that  approximates  the  care  and 
thoroughness,  or  the  wide  field  covered  by  the 
studies  of  children  in  the  West.  How  can  it  be 
claimed  that  our  aims  are  founded  on  the  in¬ 
trinsic  activities  and  needs?  The  unrest  of  an 
unemployed  student  class  in  India  ought  to  raise 
a  doubt  as  to  whether  or  not,  education  there  was 
founded  on  intrinsic  needs,  and  this  unrest  should 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  49 


be  a  warning  to  Christian  education  in  China. 
To  what  degree  is  there  actual  co-operation  be¬ 
tween  pupils  and  teachers  and  to  what  extent  is 
education  a  process  of  enforced  authority  work¬ 
ing  out  adult  ideals?  To  what  extent  is  teaching 
and  learning  a  mere  means  of  getting  ready  for 
some  general  or  abstract  end?  Is  there  a  broad 
survey  of  present  activities,  or  of  future  activi¬ 
ties,  far  removed  from  immediate  interests? 

We  may  not  accept  all  of  Professor  Dewey’s 
requirements  for  effective  educational  aims,  but 
comparison  suggests  these  and  many  other  ques¬ 
tions.  It  is  not  to  our  purpose  to  answer  these 
questions  directly,  but  the  majority  of  them  will 
be  answered  indirectly.13 

It  is  evident  that  Professor  Dewey  is  reluctant 
to  commit  himself  to  “some  one  final  aim  which 
subordinates  all  others  to  itself.”  It  is  liable  to 
be  too  narrow  because  it  only  represents  the 
emphasis  on  a  particular  need  at  a  certain  time. 
Its  values  tend  to  become  artificial.  This  judg¬ 
ment  is  due  to  his  belief  that  education  is  the  con¬ 
tinuous  reconstruction  of  experience  and  so  is 
an  end  in  itself. 

It  will  be  of  advantage  to  summarize  the  vari¬ 
ous  aims  that  have  been  functioning  in  our  edu¬ 
cational  activities  in  China.  Professor  T.  H.  P. 
Sailer  has  stated  these  admirably  in  two  or  three 
places.14 


50  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


Those  who  shape  educational  policy  should  therefore 
consider  carefully  upon  which  of  the  following  or  yet 
other  points  aim  is  most  to  be  concentrated :  ( 1 )  evan¬ 

gelization;  (2)  training  for  Christian  service;  (3) 
leavening  non-Christians  with  Christian  ideals;  (4)  in¬ 
fluencing  the  social  institutions  in  China;  (5)  influ¬ 
encing  the  spirit  and  methods  of  government  education ; 
(6)  preparing  an  educational  system  for  the  Chinese 
church  to  take  over. 

It  seems  almost  impossible  to  realize  all  these 
aims  at  once.  We  must  choose  or  co-ordinate 
them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  realize  a  larger  end 
and  stop  conflict  and  waste.  This  can  be  done 
but  it  will  call  for  reconstruction  of  our  defini¬ 
tion  of  Christianity  and  of  education.  In  both, 
the  reconstruction  must  follow  the  line  of  a  more 
practical  distinction  between  proselytism  and 
evangelism,  and  between  the  external  spread  or 
extension  of  the  Kingdom  and  the  inner  growth 
of  the  Kingdom. 

It  may  throw  light  on  our  choice  of  aim  to 
recall  briefly  the  aim  of  non-Christian  education 
in  China.  Education  has  been  true  to  its  tend¬ 
ency  everywhere  to  become  conservative. 

As  far  as  it  is  conscious,  the  purpose  of  education 
is  to  maintain  conditions  as  they  have  always  been,  and, 
by  means  of  literary  training  of  a  most  stereotyped 
order,  to  reduce  to  uniformity  a  numerous  and  heter¬ 
ogeneous  people.  It  is  not  intended  to  advance  the 
individual  or  social  welfare  of  the  people,  but  to  enable 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  51 


the  pupils  to  pass  examinations  upon  certain  definite 
requirements  fixed  for  centuries  past.15 

The  whole  prospect  is  backward,  not  forward. 
We  have  only  been  yielding  to  a  natural  tendency, 
which  history  of  education  has  only  just  taught 
us  to  realize,  if  we  have  carried  a  similar  spirit 
of  conservatism  and  retrospection  with  our 
Christian  education  in  China.  It  is  easier  to 
select  and  teach  by  rote  certain  classics  that  we 
have  inherited  from  our  past,  than  it  is  to  inter¬ 
pret  the  present  and  future  needs  of  China.  As 
we  yield  to  this  tendency  we  limit  the  educational 
values  of  our  effort.  The  points  in  common  be¬ 
come  more  apparent  in  a  comparison  of  ideals 
of  education  to  be  discussed  later. 

What  statement  of  aim,  then,  will  satisfy  essen¬ 
tial  religious  and  educational  requirements  of 
the  present  and  future?  In  the  light  of  what  men 
have  really  desired,  in  spite  of  traditional  ele¬ 
ments  that  have  conflicted  with  these  desires,  in 
the  light  of  the  demands  of  modern  genetic  edu¬ 
cation,  the  answer  may  be  formulated,  the  aim 
may  be  stated  as  “The  growth  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  on  the  earth.”  The  “Kingdom  of  God”  has 
been  used  with  widely  different  meanings.  Here 
the  phrase  means  the  development  of  a  social 
order  that  achieves  the  standard  of  divine  per¬ 
fection.  Spirit  and  matter  are  vitally  related, 


52  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


but  spirit  must  dominate.  The  present  social  in¬ 
terpretation  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  signifies  a 
real  religious  revival  of  spiritual  values.  The 
present  movement  in  education  to  relate  itself  to 
life,  and  to  make  its  process  an  end  in  itself,  is 
an  essential  part  of  this  growth  of  a  divine-human 
social  order.  Human  nature  and  human  insti¬ 
tutions  are  not  static,  but  are  dynamic  and  pro¬ 
gressive  with  divine  life. 

Among  the  various  aims  that  have  received 
emphasis  in  different  times  and  places,  there  are 
three  which  receive  special  consideration  from 
Professor  Dewey,  in  spite  of  his  unwillingness 
to  accept  any  one  aim  that  is  all-inclusive :  natu¬ 
ral  development,  social  efficiency,  and  culture,  on 
democratic  lines  of  growth. 

If  the  aim  of  Christian  education  in  China  is 
successfully  to  be  adjusted  to  the  requirements 
of  modern  genetic  and  social  education,  it  will  be 
necessary  to  consider  the  interpretation  of  these 
three  aims  in  their  relation  to  the  “growth  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  the  earth.” 

What  are  we  aiming  to  accomplish  through 
Christian  education  in  China?  In  answering 
this  question,  it  must  be  remembered,  first  and 
always,  that  we  are  beginning  our  work  far  along 
in  the  development  of  the  Chinese  people.  We 
need  the  broad  survey  of  their  development  that 
will  enable  us  to  start  in  with  the  stage  in  which 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  53 


we  find  them,  and  to  sustain  and  guide  their  natu¬ 
ral  development  continuously  and  fruitfully. 

First,  we  must  aim  for  the  natural  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  Chinese  along  their  own  lines.  There 
must  be  natural  growth,  directed  but  not  forced, 
growth  avoiding  premature  as  well  as  arrested 
development.  This  does  not  mean  that  we  shall 
leave  nature  to  herself.  It  does  mean  that  we 
shall  see  God  working  in  and  through  the  natural 
instincts  and  powers,  that  we  shall  seek  to  under¬ 
stand  His  purpose,  and  that  we  shall  seek  to 
co-operate  with  Him  intelligently,  rather  than 
ignore  or  seek  to  arrest  His  processes  of  natural 
growth.  We  must  see  that  these  natural  powers 
furnish  the  condition  of  all  our  work,  but  not 
the  end.  This  aim  calls  for  close  attention  to 
the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  entire  human 
organism.  We  have  known  that  we  could  not 
hold  imbeciles  morally  responsible,  but  we  have 
been  able  to  recognize  only  the  extreme  forms 
of  mental  defect.  Unequal  natural  endowment 
of  individuals  must  be  considered.  The  natural 
powers  and  instincts  are  God-given  and  are 
neither  morally  good  nor  morally  evil,  but  they 
develop  into  the  one  or  the  other,  according  to  the 
use  which  is  made  of  them.  It  is  no  longer  pos¬ 
sible  to  maintain  the  utter  depravity  of  these  in¬ 
stincts.  Experience  makes  us  reluctant  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  with  the  Chinese  classics  that  “Men, 


54  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


at  their  birth,  are  by  nature  radically  good.”  16 
The  evil  consequences  of  these  two  extremes  are 
apparent  and  generally  recognized.  Truer  to 
fact  of  experience  and  a  vital  faith  in  God  is  the 
statement  that  “primitive  impulses  are  of  them¬ 
selves  neither  good  nor  evil,  but  become  one  or 
the  other  according  to  the  objects  for  which  they 
are  employed.  That  neglect,  suppression  and 
premature  forcing  of  some  instincts  at  the  ex¬ 
pense  of  others,  are  responsible  for  many  avoid¬ 
able  ills.  But  the  moral  is  not  to  leave  them 
alone  to  follow  their  own  ‘spontaneous  develop¬ 
ment/  but  to  provide  an  environment  which  shall 
organize  them.”  17  This  statement  of  Professor 
Dewey  is  not  here  taken  to  refer  to  the  purpose 
of  these  instincts,  but  their  moral  nature.  If  we 
recognize  them  as  God-given  and  see  how  they 
have  served  to  advance  man  Godward,  we  must 
believe  their  purpose  is  good.  Because  they  have 
been  employed  in  evil  conduct,  men  have  formu¬ 
lated  the  theory  that  the  instincts  were  neces¬ 
sarily  morally  evil. 

We  have  thus  opened  up  the  whole  field  of  edu¬ 
cation  that  deals  with  physical,  mental,  moral 
and  social  hygiene  and  have  given  it  new  religious 
and  new  spiritual  significance.  These  natural 
powers  not  only  limit  the  educational  process,  but 
they  are  the  agents  through  which  it  proceeds. 
Mental  content  depends  upon  physical  mobility 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  55 


— a  fact  which  needs  particular  attention  in  deal¬ 
ing  with  Chinese  children.  Our  aim  has  regard 
for  the  individual  differences  of  children  instead 
of  pushing  them  all  through  the  same  mold.  It 
notes  the  origin,  the  appearance  and  disappear¬ 
ance  of  preferences  and  interests  among  Chinese 
children  about  which  we  know  practically  noth¬ 
ing  in  a  definite,  comprehensive  way.  What  we 
d.o  know  is  derived  from  unscientific  observation 
and  not  based  on  data  gathered  from  careful 
tests. 

The  aim  brings  education  in  touch  with  life, 
and  its  object  is  more  abundant  life  for  the  indi¬ 
vidual  and  for  the  race.  To  obtain  this  life,  the 
individual  and  his  endowments  is  the  first  consid¬ 
eration;  the  subject-matter  of  education  is  a 
means  and  not  an  end  in  itself.  In  making  this 
choice  we  are  working  with  God  instead  of  per¬ 
petuating  simply  what  men  have  thought  about 
Him  and  His  universe.  We  no  longer  exalt  man’s 
part  as  teacher  in  the  educative  process.  We 
aim  to  give  these  God-given  powers  an  environ¬ 
ment  favorable  to  their  development.  We  may 
prepare  the  ground  and  plant  the  seed,  but  it 
is  God  who  giveth  the  increase.  The  growth  may 
be  irregular  and  unequal,  but  growth  means  life 
and  “God  is  life.”  These  facts  do  not  release  us 
from  effort,  but  demand  more  reverent,  exact 
knowledge  of  the  powers  and  their  development 


56  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

in  the  individual — of  the  seed  and  of  the  soil. 
Life  in  the  plant  and  in  the  animal  has  been  re¬ 
duced  to  a  science  and  there  have  been  wonder¬ 
ful  results  when  man  has  understood  and  worked 
with  God’s  laws.  He  is  making  the  same  thing 
possible  in  the  development  of  human  life. 

Second,  we  must  aim  for  adequate  and  effective 
expression  of  these  natural  powers  in  social  rela¬ 
tions.  These  powers  develop  and  have  signifi¬ 
cance  only  in  association  with  other  men.  The 
principles  of  the  “Kingdom  of  God”  call  for  a 
higher  degree  of  “social  efficiency”  than  has  been 
attained  even  in  nominally  Christian  countries. 
The  first  condition  is  the  recognition  of  the  worth 
of  the  individual  in  the  degree  and  manner  of 
Jesus.  The  individual  finds  his  highest  social 
efficiency  through  the  utilization  of  his  peculiar 
endowments  for  the  general  social  welfare.  So¬ 
ciety  finds  its  highest  efficiency  in  the  recognition 
and  development  of  the  peculiar  endowments  of 
the  individual,  not  in  the  suppression  or  the 
subordination  of  these  endowments.  Social  con¬ 
trol  becomes  a  matter  of  individual  responsi¬ 
bility  rather  than  of  external  authority  in  educa¬ 
tion  and  religion,  and  of  autocracy  or  aristocracy 
in  politics  and  society. 

More  specifically,  we  must  aim  to  increase 
China’s  industrial  competency,  not  by  fixing  the 
place  of  the  individual,  but  by  developing  his 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  57 


ability  to  choose  and  fill  his  own  place.  “Social 
efficiency”  is  as  much  opposed  to  a  new  industrial 
authority  as  to  the  old  intellectual  and  social  au¬ 
thority.  The  industrial  conditions  are  changing 
rapidly.  The  change  from  a  monarchy  to  a  de¬ 
mocracy  will  place  new  emphasis  on  economic 
competency.  Economic  conditions  and  standards 
must  not  be  regarded  as  ends,  but  as  means  to 
the  development  of  more  abundant  life.  It  will 
be  necessary  to  prepare  for  adjustment  to  and 
control  of  this  rapidly  changing  industrial  en¬ 
vironment.  This  fact  opens  the  field  of  industrial 
and  vocational  education  and  of  practical  eco¬ 
nomics  for  China,  and  it  gives  moral  and  religious 
significance  to  all  that  is  done  in  the  spirit  and 
larger  aim  of  the  Kingdom’s  growth. 

Our  aim  will  give  to  China  greater  “civic  effic¬ 
iency”  and  new  ideals  of  citizenship.  Hitherto 
the  people  have  had  no  voice  in  the  making  of 
their  laws  and  so  have  had  no  direct  interest  in 
the  enforcement  of  these  laws.  Under  the  new 
regime,  great  responsibilities  of  citizenship  have 
fallen  upon  the  people  who,  though  somewhat 
prepared,  are  for  the  most  part  unprepared. 
There  has  been  much  of  intellectual  theory  about 
citizenship.  There  is  much  impatience  among 
the  westerners  with  the  slowness  and  political 
lethargy  of  the  Chinese  officials.  Their  “civic 
efficiency”  has  consisted  in  the  ability  to  write 


58  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


“eight-legged  essays”  on  morals.  In  the  future, 
it  must  consist  in  ability  to  do  things  in  co-opera¬ 
tion  with  others.  Our  aim 

covers  all  that  makes  one’s  own  experience  worthwhile 
to  others,  and  all  that  enables  one  to  participate  more 
richly  in  the  worthwhile  experiences  of  others.  Ability 
to  produce  and  enjoy  art,  capacity  for  recreation,  the 
significant  utilization  of  leisure,  are  more  important 
elements  in  it  than  elements  conventionally  associated 
oftentimes  with  citizenship.18 

It  will  aim  to  break  down  the  indifference  of 

« 

one  individual  to  the  interests  of  another  which 
seems  callousness  to  some  observers  from  the? 
West,  and  will  seek  to  build  up  intelligent  sym¬ 
pathy  and  good  wfill — and  sympathy  that  “is  a 
cultivated  imagination  for  what  men  have  in 
common  and  a  rebellion  at  whatever  unnecessar¬ 
ily  divides  them.” 

Third,  the  practical  interpretations  of  our  edu¬ 
cational  aim  do  not  preclude  the  cultural  ele¬ 
ment.  The  cultural  element  is  particularly 
needed  in  China  where  attention  to  whatever  is 
unique  in  the  individual  is  so  sorely  neglected 
and  where  so  little  attention  has  been  given  to 
the  development  of  the  personality.  The  fuller 
the  development  of  the  individual  the  greater  is 
the  gain  of  society.  But  it  must  be  made  clear 
that  this  culture  is  not  an  “inner  perfection”  of 
the  individual  which  gives  refinement  and  polish 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  59 


to  a  few  and  denies  the  same  opportunity  to  the 
majority,  if  it  is  to  come  within  the  aim  of  the 
“growth  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  earth,”  or 
even  of  a  modern  world-democracy. 

The  Christian  democracy  toward  which  we  are 
moving  must  have  (1)  a  culture  free  from  social 
distinctions  of  a  divisive  nature;  (2)  a  culture 
that  realizes  itself  in  conscious  helpfulness  to 
others;  (3)  a  culture  that  ends  the  antagonism 
between  the  idea  of  self-sacrifice  and  the  idea 
of  spiritual  self-perfection  and  makes  social  ef¬ 
ficiency  and  personal  culture  synonymous.  We 
may  add  Professor  Dewey’s  definition  of  culture : 
“There  is  perhaps  no  better  definition  of  culture 
than  that  it  is  the  capacity  for  constantly  expand¬ 
ing  in  range  and  accuracy  one’s  perception  of 
meanings.” 

The  significance  of  this  statement  and  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  aim  of  Christian  education  in 
China,  appears  in  the  following  opinion  of  a 
leading  expert  in  religious  education: 

Social  efficiency  may  be  taken  to  mean  something 
merely  external  and  personal,  development  or  culture 
may  become  too  subjective,  but,  for  the  Christian,  the 
ideal  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  may  be  conceived  so  as  to 
fulfill  Dewey’s  requirements.  It  stands  for  social  wel¬ 
fare,  external  and  internal;  it  indicates  that  the  best 
personal  development  is  to  be  found  in  service;  it  finds 
a  place  for  the  freest  use  of  intelligence  and  investiga¬ 
tion  in  dealing  with  its  problems;  it  represents  a  goal 


60  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


that  is  broad  and  may  be  considered  as  indefinitely  pro¬ 
gressive;  it  .  .  .  recognizes  the  highest  possibilities 
of  growth  at  every  stage.19 

The  way  has  been  opened  for  a  critical  study 
of  educational  ideals  that  will  achieve  our  choice 
of  aim. 


CHAPTER  IY 


THE  CLASSICAL  IDEAL  IN  EDUCATION 

The  ideal  is  the  broad  view  of  education  and 
has  to  do  with  the  process.  The  aim  fixes  atten¬ 
tion  on  the  objective.  Any  study  of  the  history  of 
education  brings  to  light  a  large  variety  of  minor 
phases  of  education  which  are  described  as 
“ideals”  in  education.  History  has  shown,  in 
most  cases,  that  these  ideals  were  too  narrow  to 
merit  the  name. 

Educational  reforms  have  developed  to  a  point, 
within  the  last  twenty  years,  where  two  ideals 
stand  out  clearly.  One  or  the  other  seems  to 
comprehend  all  of  the  minor  phases  to  which  ref¬ 
erence  has  just  been  made.  These  may  be  de¬ 
scribed  as  the  classical  ideal  and  the  social  ideal. 

The  classical  ideal  is  the  older  and  more  firmly 
established.  It  is  easily  recognized  and  has  dom¬ 
inated  the  curriculum,  aim,  and  methods  of  West¬ 
ern  education  until  within  fifteen  years.  Its 
strength,  today,  cannot  be  exactly  determined. 
Judging  from  the  number  of  new  books  that  are 
appearing  and  criticising  its  influence,  there  is 

reason  to  think  that  it  still  very  largely  dom- 

61 


62  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


mates  Western  education.  In  the  elementary 
and  secondary  schools  it  has  lost  its  strength. 
In  higher  education,  except  in  a  few  institutions 
of  comparatively  recent  origin,  it  still  has  its 
stronghold.  It  has  crystallized  sufficiently  to 
produce  a  curriculum  of  studies  that  is  prac¬ 
tically  the  same  throughout  Great  Britain  and 
the  United  States.  There  are  modifications  in 
the  United  States  toward  a  more  liberal  educa¬ 
tion  which  make  it  inconvenient  to  change  from 
one  national  system  to  the  other  but  this  does  not 
alter  the  general  fact  of  the  dominant  classical 
ideal.  It  is  not  necessary,  here,  to  present  the 
data  to  show  that  education  in  the  United  States 
has  been  strongly  influenced  by  the  British  ideals. 
Any  history  of  education  makes  this  apparent. 

Attention  is  called  to  this  fact,  now,  because 
of  its  bearing  on  education  in  China.  Nearly  all 
of  the  Christian  educational  institutions  are 
under  American  or  British  control.  The  majority 
are  under  American  direction.  Between  these 
two  groups,  there  is  a  difference  in  method,  but 
a  unity  in  ideal  which  comes  from  their  common 
origin  and  inheritance.  Such  investigations  as 
have  been  made  in  China  seem  to  make  no  na¬ 
tional  distinctions  in  their  reports. 

The  reason  for  designating  this  general  ideal 
as  “classical”  becomes  more  evident  in  a  study  of 
its  origin,  development,  and  characteristics. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  63 


These  are  more  adequately  treated  in  reliable 
histories  of  education,  but  certain  significant  fea¬ 
tures  need  to  be  mentioned  here. 

THE  ORIGIN 

The  origin  of  our  educational  ideals  is  easily 
traced  back  to  the  Greek  ideals. 

The  mass  of  men  in  the  Greek  world  tended  to  lay 
stress  on  that  acquaintance  with  the  literature  of  by¬ 
gone  generations,  and  that  habit  of  cultivated  speech, 
which  has  ever  since  been  commonly  spoken  of  as  edu¬ 
cation.  Our  own  comes  by  direct  tradition  from  it. 
It  set  the  fashion  which  until  recently  has  uniformly 
prevailed  over  the  entire  civilized  world.20 

This  fact  is  often  overlooked  and  American 
education  regarded  as  indigenous. 

Some  general  considerations  regarding  educa¬ 
tion  are  pertinent  at  this  point.  Primitive  edu¬ 
cation,  in  the  savage  state  of  human  development, 
is  practical  and  seeks  to  satisfy  immediate  wants. 
It  tries  to  adapt  to  phases  of  environment  which 
it  cannot  understand  or  control.  In  the  second, 
or  the  barbaric  stage  of  development,  education 
adds  the  task  of  maintaining  conditions  as  they 
have  existed  in  the  past.  When  these  customs 
and  traditions  which  have  grown  up  largely  from 
past  experiences  and  the  interpretation  of  those 
experiences,  fall  so  far  behind  the  social  and  bio¬ 
logical  development  that  they  cease  to  function  in 


64  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


social  control,  then  education  takes  a  very  sig¬ 
nificant  step  forward.  Up  to  this  point,  educa¬ 
tion  had  been  almost  entirely  social.  There  had 
been  no  particular  stimulus  to  the  development 
of  the  individuality  and  no  recognition  of  the  in¬ 
dividual.  Variation  from  custom  and  tradition, 
in  some  cases,  cost  the  individual  his  life  and  his 
property  because  he  endangered  the  welfare  of 
the  community.  There  were,  of  course,  unusual 
individuals  who  successfully  defied  this  general 
attitude. 

When  traditional  experience  loses  all  touch 
with  present  experience,  and  this  fact  comes  to 
be  generally  recognized  or  felt  by  the  group,  the 
individual  takes  a  new  position  in  the  group 
through  the  demand  for  rational  readjustments 
of  the  educative  process.  This  stage  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  Greeks  is  of  particular  signifi¬ 
cance.  It  seems  to  be  unique  in  the  history  of 
human  education,  at  least,  in  its  clear-cut  ration¬ 
alism  and  in  the  effect  of  that  rationalism  on  the 
educational  ideals  of  the  West.  “To  the  Greeks 
we  owe  the  first  attempt  to  secure  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  personality  on  the  thought  side.  .  .  . 
They  first  formulated  the  conception  of  man  as 
primarily  a  rational  being.”  21 

The  transition  in  Greece  followed  new  interna¬ 
tional  contacts  and  went  parallel  to  important 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  65 


commercial  and  industrial  changes.22  These  con¬ 
ditions  are  being  paralleled  in  China.  Like 
Greece,  China  has  a  wonderful  civilization  as  the 
achievement  of  the  old  education ;  there  have  been 
new  and  stimulating,  not  to  say  provoking,  inter¬ 
national  contacts ;  important  economic  and  indus¬ 
trial  changes  are  now  at  work.  Professor  Mon¬ 
roe’s  words  about  Greece  exactly  describe  China’s 
present  stage  of  development.  “While  the  old 
education  laid  the  foundation  for  these  achieve¬ 
ments,  it  was  insufficient  to  meet  the  demands 
of  the  times  and  altogether  inadequate  for  future 
needs.”  The  growth  of  democracy  is  another  im¬ 
portant  parallel  factor.  The  nature  of  the  old 
Greek  education  differs  radically  from  the  nature 
of  the  old  Chinese  education.  The  former  was 
objective  and  consisted  in  social  customs  chiefly ; 
the  latter  was  symbolic  and  consisted  in  Classics. 

Greece  sought  to  solve  the  problem  by*shifting 
the  emphasis  from  the  social  to  the  individual 
interest.  The  new  situation  placed  new  demands 
on  the  individual.  Old  customs  and  traditions 
began  to  break  down.  Greater  opportunities 
were  open  to  the  individual.  “Chief  emphasis 
was  laid  upon  individual  development  rather 
than  upon  service  to  the  city  state.”  The 
individual  was  no  longer  merged  in  the  citi¬ 
zen.23 


66  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


THE  DEVELOPMENT 

The  development  of  this  ideal  can  only  be 
sketched.  The  Sophists  were,  in  part,  the  cause 
and  the  product  of  this  new  individualism.  The 
Theorists  saw  the  grave  danger  to  society  in  thus 
giving  to  the  individual  a  place  apart  from  and 
above  his  place  as  citizen.  They  sought  to  “pro¬ 
vide  for  institutional  loyalty  and  social  service, 
and  at  the  same  time  permit  or  even  necessitate 
the  fullest  development  of  personality.”  What¬ 
ever  was  the  intellectual  gain,  all  their  efforts 
failed  to  save  the  morality  and  political  power  of 
Greece. 

Then  Rome,  with  little  indigenous  culture, 
took  over  the  Greek  ideal  and  its  content  as  a 
short-cut  to  education.  Later,  barbarous  central 
and  western  Europe  did  the  same  thing.  So  the 
elements  of  the  Greek  educational  ideals  have 
come  down  to  us  through  the  modifying  influ¬ 
ences  of  European  civilization.  They  have  been 
further  modified  in  the  development  of  Ameri¬ 
can  civilization.  This  process  of  change  has  been 
very  slow  and  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish 
the  indigenous  elements  of  American  education 
from  those  which  have  been  inherited  from  Great 
Britain  and  the  Continent.  To  what  extent  has 
this  ideal  of  education  been  modified  in  China? 
The  answer  to  this  question  of  the  further 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  67 


development  of  the  ideal  in  China  comes 
later. 


THE  CHARACTERISTICS 

Through  all  this  modification  and  re-interpre¬ 
tation,  the  essential  elements  have  remained  un¬ 
changed  and  this  type  of  education  is  still  desig¬ 
nated  as  the  Classical  education.”  These  per¬ 
sistent  elements  give  the  distinctive  character 
to  the  ideal.  It  is  best  defined  by  saying  that  it 
is  the  educational  ideal  which  has  produced  the 
course  of  study  leading  to  the  degree  of  bachelor 
of  arts  in  the  great  majority  of  American  and 
British  colleges. 

A  fuller  description  involves  the  mention  of 
its  distinctive  characteristics  which  have  per¬ 
sisted  through  all  the  modifications. 

Literature  and  language  study  dominate  the 
curriculum.  “Greece  on  one  hand  had  lost  po¬ 
litical  power,  and  on  the  other  hand  possessed  in 
her  splendid  literature  an  inalienable  heritage. 
It  was  natural  that  she  should  turn  to  letters.  It 
was  natural  also  that  the  study  of  letters  should 
be  reflected  upon  speech.”  24 

The  Greeks  studied  literature  rather  than 
nature.  Our  line  of  descent,  given  under  the 
head  of  “Development,”  shows  why  we  do  the 
same  thing  to  an  extent  that  warrants  the  rather 
broad  statement  that  we  do  it  because  they  did.25 


68  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  religious  classics  in  the  Greek,  Hebrew  and 
Latin  have  accentuated  this  original  impulse. 
The  task  of  improving  European  vernaculars, 
though  antagonistic  to  emphasis  on  the  original 
Greek  and  Latin,  has  resulted  in  persistent  atten¬ 
tion  to  language  and  the  production  of  native 
classics. 

Subject  matter  is  symbolic  rather  than  objec¬ 
tive.  In  the  first  place,  this  was  due  to  the  in¬ 
adequacy  of  primitive  objective  education  and 
the  reaction  to  an  emphasis  on  ideas  and  their 
symbols.  Language,  literature,  rhetoric,  mathe¬ 
matics,  art,  all  were  essential  to  the  intellect- 
ualism  which  displaced  the  crude  empiricism  of 
earlier  types  of  education.  It  was  natural  that 
Rome  and  the  West  should  take  over  the  fea¬ 
tures  which  the  Greeks  had  emphasized.  Per¬ 
sonal  influence  and  advantage  also  depended  on 
the  mastery  of  the  spoken  and  written  symbols. 
The  limited  number  who  received  an  education 
tended  to  emphasize' esoteric  symbolism,  to  keep 
the  knowledge  within  a  select  group — a  common 
characteristic  in  all  education  up  to  the  present 
world-wide  movements  toward  popular  educa¬ 
tion.  The  practical  value  of  the  symbol  as  a 
short  cut  to  culture  must  not  be  lost  sight  of 
in  China,  but  deliberate  choice  must  follow  the 
demonstration  that  the  immediate  gain  is  a  per¬ 
manent  gain.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  justify 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  69 


the  short  cut  on  the  ground  that  we  have  no 
other  alternative.  This  fact  is  particularly  true 
in  China. 

Choice  of  subject  matter  is  of  first  importance. 
Regard  for  the  qualifications  of  the  teacher  and 
for  the  natural  capacity  and  interest  of  the 
pupils  has  come  very  recently,  though  there 
were  a  few  who  saw  dimly  the  importance  of 
these  factors.  The  first  essential  of  a  school  was, 
and  is,  that  certain  highly  esteemed  subjects  are 
given  the  largest  place  in  the  curriculum.  The 
rating  of  a  school  depends  upon  the  subject  mat¬ 
ter  taught. 

Privileged  subject  matter  is  reduced  to  stand¬ 
ard  texts  and  textbooks.  Literature,  philosophy, 
mathematics,  even  natural  and  social  sciences, 
in  some  cases,  are  embalmed  in  accepted  symbolic 
expressions.  These  texts  must  be  memorized 
and  repeated  in  practically  the  exact  form  of 
the  original.  Certain  sections  are  assigned  each 
day,  the  contents  of  which  must  be  mastered  so 
that  the  student  can  give  them  back  to  the 
teacher.  Of  course,  it  is  a  far  cry  from  the  old 
Chinese  teacher  to  the  average  Western  teacher, 
but  it  is  a  difference  of  individuals  and  of 
methods  rather  than  of  educational  ideal.  Any 
careful  listener  will  find  that  almost  any  group 
of  students  in  any  Western  school  are  much  more 
concerned  about  hitting  on  the  right  subject 


70  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


matter  to  satisfy  the  teacher  and  his  examina¬ 
tion  questions,  than  they  are  in  the  subject 
itself  and  its  practical  bearing  on  their  lives. 
With  this  devotion  to  textbook  there  is  little 
stimulus  to  independent  investigation,  and  orig¬ 
inal  expression  is  discouraged.  Saying  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  lesson  in  one’s  own  words  may  be, 
and  usually  is,  a  process  of  mental  gymnastics 
that  helps  to  an  understanding  of  the  text  but 
must  not  be  mistaken  for  original  expression. 

Absolute  conformity  to  accepted  authorities  is 
characteristic  of  the  classical  ideal.  In  some 
cases  variation  is  regarded  as  a  mark  of  dis¬ 
respect.  One  scarcely  dares  express  an  idea 
without  reference  to  the  authorities.  American 
scholars  acknowledge  their  dependence  upon 
German  and  French  authorities.  High  mental 
and  moral  disciplinary  value  is  supposed  to  be 
derived  through  complete  obedience  to  these 
authorities  and  conformity  to  traditional  stand¬ 
ards.  This  tendency  has  its  values,  but  it  also 
has  grave  dangers  that  are  not  easily  recognized. 
Dominance  of  authority  in  education  has  grown 
with  the  development  of  the  ideal. 

The  general  viewpoint  is  retrospective.  The 
Golden  Age  is  behind  us  and  is  a  drag,  instead 
of  lying  before  us  as  an  inspiration  to  greater 
endeavor. 

Conservation  of  past  standards  and  ideals  is 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  71 


the  aim .  The  law  of  heredity  is  exalted  above 
the  law  of  variation  in  intellectual  progress. 
Preservation  of  past  values  is  allowed  to  obscure 
and  retard  the  creation  of  new  and  greater 
values.  The  West  can  see  the  truth  more  clearly 
when  it  criticises  Chinese  classical  education 
than  when  observing  its  own  educational  practice. 

Inherent  'provincialism  dominated  the  spirit  of 
the  system  in  spite  of  its  claims  to  liberal  hu¬ 
manism.  The  exaggerated  emphasis  on  symbols 
that  constitute  certain  languages,  the  subser¬ 
vience  to  authorities,  the  esoteric  tendency  of 
educational  specialists  in  various  lines — most 
apparent,  perhaps,  in  law  and  medicine — all 
these  result  in  a  provincialism  that  cannot  com¬ 
prehend  a  similar  ideal  and  system  built  upon  a 
different  set  of  symbols.  Western  education  can 
see  this  defect  in  the  exclusiveness  and  pro¬ 
vincialism  of  the  old  Chinese  classical  education 
more  easily  than  it  recognizes  the  same  prin¬ 
ciple  in  its  own  slowness  and  reluctance  to 
acknowledge  the  real  values  in  the  Chinese  ideal. 
It  is  therefore  a  hindrance  to  the  larger  inter¬ 
nationalism  into  which  the  world  is  entering. 

Classical  education  has  always  been  for  the 
few  a  thin  social  stratum.  It  would  be  a  very 
narrow  one-sided  observation  to  say  that  educa¬ 
tion  of  every  kind  is  only  now  becoming  avail¬ 
able  for  the  many.  Such  a  view  ignores  the 


72  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

volume  of  social  education  that  has  been  increas¬ 
ing  steadily  since  the  early  primitive  education 
failed,  and  regards  simply  the  classical  definition 
of  education.  There  has  been,  in  America,  a 
steady  deepening  of  that  stratum  but,  even  then, 
the  number,  approximately  one  per  cent.,  who 
are  able  to  go  on  for  a  complete  classical  educa¬ 
tion  is  so  small  that  it  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  acute  phases  of  America’s  educational  prob¬ 
lem.  Out  of  this  recognized  fact  has  arisen  the 
determined  movement  to  free  elementary  and 
secondary  education,  which  is  for  the  masses, 
from  the  limitations  of  an  educational  ideal  and 
system  that  has  been  devised  and  has  been  val¬ 
uable  for  a  comparatively  small  number  of  in¬ 
dividuals.  The  attempt  to  make  the  classical 
education  entirely  popular  and  to  operate  the 
ideal  through  the  elementary  education  for  the 
masses  has  forced  American  educators  into  the 
present  significant  reforms  and  into  a  revision 
of  their  definition  of  education.  These  considera¬ 
tions  have  very  great  significance  in  China. 

Individualism  is  the  motive  force.  In  the 
fundamental  problem  of  individual  development 
and  social  welfare,  the  classical  ideal  has  exalted 
the  individual  and  appealed,  primarily,  to  self- 
interest.  From  the  standpoint  of  our  educa¬ 
tional  aim,  the  growth  of  an  ideal  society,  the 
fault  does  not  lie  in  the  emphasis  on  the  in- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  7 3 


dividual,  but  in  limiting  this  emphasis  to  a  small 
number  of  individuals.  The  fact  that  this  dis¬ 
crimination  was  unavoidable  does  not  remedy 
its  evil  consequences.  The  excuse  for  the  dis¬ 
crimination  is  passing  rapidly,  with  the  upward 
push  of  the  masses  as  seen  in  the  present  Russian 
revolution,  the  unrest  in  Germany,  the  persis¬ 
tent  republican  ideal  in  China,  and  the  growth 
of  the  democratic  spirit  in  Japan. 

Other  characteristics  might  be  mentioned,  but 
a  sufficient  number  have  been  given  to  identify 
the  classical  type  of  education.  However,  the 
motive  force  is  so  important  that  a  brief  his¬ 
torical  sketch  of  the  status  of  the  individual  is 
here  introduced. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  origin 
of  the  ideal  in  the  so-called  Greek  new  educa¬ 
tion.  The  Sophists  contributed  much  to  un¬ 
restricted  individualism ;  according  to  Plato, 
Aristophanes  and  the  conservatives,  their  con¬ 
tribution  was  mostly  evil ;  from  other  sources,  it 
is  evident  that  the  good  about  balances  the  evil. 
Particular  attention  was  given  to  the  cultivation 
of  the  intellectual,  moral  and  aesthetic  elements 
of  the  individual  personality.  The  Theorists, 
Socrates,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  saw  the  evil  con¬ 
sequences  in  the  trend  of  the  new  Greek  educa¬ 
tion  and  suggested  changes  of  methods,  but  in¬ 
creased  the  emphasis  on  the  individual.  They 


74  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


saw  the  problem  of  adjustment  between  the  in¬ 
dividual  and  society.  “To  Socrates  and  Plato 
the  bond  which  was  to  serve  as  the  aim  of  edu¬ 
cation  was  knowledge ;  to  Aristotle  this  aim  was 
happiness  or  goodness.” 26  Their  failure  to 
accomplish  the  union  is  apparent  in  the  social 
and  political  decline  of  Greece.  Rome  found 
the  ideals  and  elements  of  the  Cosmopolitan 
Period,  beginning  about  the  middle  of  the  third 
century  B.C.,  congenial  to  her  aspirations  for 
individual  power  and  world  domination.  The 
introduction  of  Greek  individualism  is  contem¬ 
porary  with,  if  not  the  explanation  of  Roman 
national  expansion. 

The  Gospel  of  Jesus  emphasized  the  value  of 
the  individual  from  a  different  angle.  Chris¬ 
tianity  shifted  the  emphasis  from  the  intellectual 
to  the  moral  element  in  the  individual.  Mon- 
asticism  was  unsocial,  individualistic.  By  sub¬ 
jecting  the  body  to  the  spirit  and  putting  the 
two  in  ascetic  antagonism,  monasticism  was  true 
to  the  original  antagonism  between  intellectual- 
ism  and  empiricism,  and  was  a  part  of  the  classi¬ 
cal  ideal.  This  interpretation  does  not  deny  the 
social  contributions  of  monasticism;  it  only  re¬ 
veals  more  clearly  the  egoistic  motives  that 
functioned  in  these  movements.  Mysticism,  emo¬ 
tional  and  symbolical,  fixes  thought  on  self  and 
seeks  the  perfection  of  the  soul  of  the  individual 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  75 


apart  from,  if  not  in  opposition  to,  society.  It 
made  no  attempt  to  serve  society. 

Scholasticism  then  swung  the  pendulum  back 
to  intellectualism  in  support  of  religious  faith. 
The  emphasis  was  still  individualistic  rather 
than  social.  Its  educational  purpose  was  “to 
develop  the  power  of  disputation,  to  systematize 
knowledge,  and  to  give  the  individual  mastery  of 
this  system  of  knowledge.”  27  At  the  same  time, 
absolute  authority  and  dogmatism  subordinated 
the  individual  to  its  requirements  and  suppressed 
those  individuals  who  disagreed  with  it.  “The 
essential  feature  of  the  Renaissance  was  indi¬ 
vidualism.”  28  It  was,  however,  a  victory  for  a 
larger  group  of  individuals.  Education  and  re¬ 
ligion,  when  they  over-emphasize  the  idea  of 
“the  perfect  man,”  or  “moral  worth  and  fame,” 
show  life  centered  around  the  individual,  and 
regard  a  perfect  society  as  the  utopia  of  fools. 
The  rational  dominated  the  humanistic  and  ob¬ 
scured  the  natural  and  social  elements  of  the 
Renaissance. 

The  Reformation  was  strongly  individualistic, 
particularly  in  religion,  though  more  social  than 
the  Renaissance.  So  individualistic  has  been 
the  dominant  educational  ideal  ever  since,  that 
More’s  “Utopia”  and  other  books  seeking  to  out¬ 
line  a  perfect  society,  have  been  regarded,  until 
very  recently,  as  literary  curiosities.  Of  the 


76  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

making  of  books  on  the  perfect  individual,  apart 
from,  even  in  opposition  to,  social  welfare,  there 
is  no  end.  Individual  perfection  is  supposed  to 
be  achieved  by  the  education  of  the  head  and 
heart,  not  by  the  education  of  the  body ;  by  think¬ 
ing  rather  than  by  doing.  It  has  not  been  many 
years  since  ethics  were  taught  by  men  who  were 
openly  immoral.  The  physical  development  has 
been  grudgingly  given  a  place  in  educational  ad¬ 
ministration.  Some  institutions  have  put  the 
ban  on  athletics  altogether.  Only  recently 
physical  culture  has  broken  through  the  ancient 
dualism  of  spirit  and  matter  and  received  serious 
consideration.  Even  in  athletics,  extreme  in¬ 
dividualism  is  present  and  is  disastrous  to  team¬ 
work  and  good  sportsmanship. 

This  summary  of  the  classical  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion  does  not  deny  or  ignore  the  values  that 
have  come  to  society  through  its  influence,  direct 
and  indirect.  The  purpose  of  the  summary  is  to 
present  some  of  the  most  evident  features  of  the 
ideal  for  comparison  and  further  study,  and  to 
discover  its  impelling  motive.  Clearly,  this  ideal 
gives  first  place  to  the  interest  of  the  individual, 
second  place  to  the  interest  of  society.  The 
motive  force  of  the  whole  system  is  the  egoistic 
instinct.  It  has  sought  for  the  welfare  of  society 
through  the  highest  development  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual.  It  has  not  sought  for  the  highest  wel- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  77 


fare  of  the  individual  in  and  through  his  iden¬ 
tification  of  himself  with  the  greatest  social 
welfare. 

What  is  the  status  of  the  classical  ideal  today? 
It  is  undergoing  severe  criticism  and  radical 
change.  This  is  not  the  first  time  that  it  has 
been  called  on  to  pass  through  such  an  ex¬ 
perience.  In  the  Kenaissance,  it  fought  the  lib¬ 
eral  Greek  humanism  with  which  the  movement 
started,  captured  it  and  crushed  it  back  into  the 
“narrow  humanism” — a  humanism  so  narrow 
that  it  had  little  or  no  humanity  in  it,  if  we  may 
judge  from  the  life  of  the  times. 

Sense-realism,  the  lineal  descendant  of  the 
liberal  Greek  humanism  which  scholasticism  had 
crushed,  arose  “outside  of  the  university,  which 
had  little  sympathy  with  the  new  thought.” 
Classicism  scorned  it  at  first,  then,  seeing  its 
vitality,  captured  it  and  crushed  out  the  vitality 
in  the  mold  of  “disciplinary  education.”  Natural 
science  and  humanism  were  reduced  to  textbooks, 
and  pushed  again  on  a  suffering  humanity  which 
is  now  struggling  to  free  itself  from  its  burden. 

Christian  educators  in  China  should  be  fa¬ 
miliar  with  the  fight  of  the  last  fifteen  years 
around  the  question  of  disciplinary  values  in 
education.  The  strength  of  the  classical  ideal 
lies  in  the  fact  that  it  is  rooted  in,  and  feeds 
upon  human  selfishness.  Its  power  will  not 


78  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


be  easily  broken,  but  when  that  is  accomplished 
there  will  be  a  revolution  in  society  that  will 
be  comprehended  only  by  Jesus’  ideal  of  the 
Kingdom  of  God  on  earth.  All  who  are  pray¬ 
ing  and  working  for  this  end  should  see  clearly 
the  elements  involved  in  this  present  movement 
for  educational  reform  in  America  ;  they  should 
take  warning  from  past  failures  and  be  on  guard 
against  them ;  they  should  be  willing  to  sacrifice 
the  traditions  of  men  for  the  sake  of  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  and  humanity. 

Space  will  not  permit  the  naming  of  the  books 
and  articles  that  voice  this  criticism  and  de¬ 
scribe  the  change  that  is  going  on.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  men  of  affairs,  particularly  in  the 
field  of  production  and  distribution,  persistently 
declare  that  the  dominant  ideal  of  education  un¬ 
fits  young  men  for  the  world’s  work.  They  say 
that  it  gives  only  a  smattering  of  a  great  mass 
of  subject  matter,  and  does  not  relate  this  subject 
matter  to  life  experience.  It  fails  to  teach  men 
and  women  to  use  their  hands  in  effective  pro¬ 
duction.  There  is  bitter  resentment  of  its  domi- 
nation  of  the  elementary  and  secondary  curricula. 
It  has  fostered  ideas  of  individualism  and  an 
indifference  to  social  obligation  that  made  it 
possible  for  the  railroad  brotherhoods  and  opera¬ 
tors  to  threaten  to  tie  up  the  national  traffic 
system  when  the  nation  was  on  the  verge  of  war, 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  79 


and  when  the  high  cost  of  foods  had  already 
become  almost  prohibitive  in  the  cities.  The 
classical  ideal  has  been  based  on  the  principle  of 
competition.  The  masses  are  learning  the  lesson 
and  the  teachers  will  be  called  to  account  for 
the  consequences  of  this  principle.  If  as  much 
emphasis  had  been  placed  on  social  obligation 
and  mutual  co-operation  as  has  been  placed  on 
the  exaltation  of  the  individual  and  the  principle 
of  competition — the  essence  of  class  rivalry — 
general  conditions  in  Europe  and  industrial  con¬ 
ditions  in  America  would  be  different.  “Even 
Nietzsche,  with  his  doctrine  that  ‘might  is  right/ 
received  far  more  inspiration  from  his  classical 
studies  than  from  any  misinterpretation  of 
Darwin.”  29 

The  classical  ideal  in  relation  to  the  Euro¬ 
pean  war  as  seen  by  a  recent  writer,  gives  ex¬ 
pression  to  this  same  criticism. 

In  intellectual  processes  I  will  confess  that  my  sym¬ 
pathies  are  undisguisedly  with  the  French ;  the  English 
will  never  think  nor  talk  clearly  until  they  get  clerical 
“Greek”  and  sham  “humanities”  out  of  their  public 
schools  and  sincere  study  and  genuine  humanities  in; 
our  disingenuous  Anglican  compromise  is  like  a  cold  in 
the  English  head,  and  higher  education  in  England  is 
a  training  in  evasion.30 

The  influence  of  the  classical  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion  is  apparent  in  every  Western  social  insti- 


80  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 

tution.  The  development  of  education  in  the 
West  has  progressed  far  enough  so  that,  together 
with  a  sympathetic  comparative  study  of  edu¬ 
cation,  similar  to  the  study  of  comparative  re¬ 
ligion,  we  should  begin  to  estimate  real  values 
in  education  more  accurately.  The  constructive 
side  of  the  reform  movement  which  is  so  strongly 
affecting  the  classical  ideal  will  be  discussed  in 
the  next  chapter,  under  the  title  “The  Social 
Ideal.” 


CHAPTER  V 


THE  SOCIAL  IDEAL  IN  EDUCATION 

The  choice  of  the  term,  “the  social  ideal,”  is 
due  to  the  fact  that  the  ideal  is  variously  and 
partially  described  as  “naturalistic,”  “humani¬ 
tarian,”  “practical,”  “utilitarian,”  “sociological,” 
and  with  other  names  not  so  familiar.  While 
having  more  or  less  of  the  elements  of  the  social 
ideal,  these  so-called  “ideals”  are  so  narrow  in 
the  range  of  facts  considered  that  they  do  not 
adequately  express  the  social  ideal  demanded  by 
the  educational  aim  already  stated — the  growth 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  on  the  earth.  Secondly, 
it  is  used  because,  as  yet,  the  ideal  has  not  been 
reduced  to  a  standard  curriculum,  as  in  the  case 
of  the  classical  ideal. 

The  social  ideal  is  essentially  Christian  in  that 

Jesus  was  the  first  to  define  clearly  its  objective, 

aim,  and  principles.  Its  objective  is  a  perfect 

human  society;  its  aim  is  the  growth  and  the 

development  of  that  society;  its  principles  are 

comprehended  in  the  worth  of  the  individual  and 

his  natural  development  in  and  through  society. 

This  claim  for  the  social  ideal  does  not  deny  that 

81 


82  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

certain  important  elements  of  the  ideal  have  been 
present  in  non-Christian  educational  systems,  as 
will  be  shown  later.  The  social  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion,  based  on  the  principles  and  teachings  of 
Jesus,  should,  at  least,  receive  equal  considera¬ 
tion  with  the  classical  in  a  nominally  Christian 
civilization  and  in  Christian  missions.  The  defi¬ 
nition  of  this  ideal  will  appear  more  fully  in  the 
following  study  of  its  origin,  development,  and 
characteristics. 

THE  ORIGIN 

It  has  been  stated  that  the  social  ideal  in  edu¬ 
cation  has  its  origin  in  the  principles  and  teach¬ 
ings  of  Jesus.  It  is  possible  to  find  much  in 
common  between  Jesus’  methods  of  teaching  and 
the  methods  of  the  present  educational  reforms. 
The  last  ten  years  have  produced  a  number  of 
books  which  interpret  and  emphasize  the  social 
elements  in  Jesus’  teaching.  These  general 
social  elements  are  to  be  traced  back  to  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  human  education.  Primitive  educa¬ 
tion  was  a  process  of  social  interaction.  It 
proved  inadequate  because  of  the  limitations  of 
its  knowledge  and  its  subordination  of  the  in¬ 
dividual.  Even  with  the  changes  in  education 
which  came  with  the  development  of  language 
and  literature  and  the  growth  of  the  classical 
ideal  as  already  described,  this  process  of  social 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  S3 


education  has  continued.  It  has  not  been  hon¬ 
ored  with  recognition  as  an  educative  process 
until  recently.  It  gives  promise  of  working  a 
revolution  in  world-education. 

THE  DEVELOPMENT 

Rising  from  primitive  education  by  the  social 
contacts,  the  Greeks  developed  and  emphasized 
the  social  elements  from  the  Homeric  period 
down  into  the  Age  of  Pericles,  The  Golden  Age 
of  Greek  history.  Although  there  was  more 
recognition  of  the  individual  than  is  generally 
thought  to  be  apparent  in  Oriental  systems,  “the 
social  aspect  of  the  educational  ideal  was  em¬ 
phasized.”  The  culmination  of  this  ideal  which 
placed  the  social  welfare  first,  carried  Greece 
to  the  height  of  her  national  power  and  glory, 
produced  great  individuals  in  politics,  in  art,  in 
historical  and  dramatic  writings,  created  her 
greatest  contributions  to  human  progress,  and 
formulated  ideals  that  constituted  important, 
but  neglected  factors  in  the  educational  theories 
of  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle.  The  new  edu¬ 
cation  brought  the  overemphasis  on  the  in¬ 
dividual. 

During  this  period  Sparta  furnishes  a  striking 
example  of  the  abuse  of  the  social  elements  in 
education.  The  individual  was  entirely  subordi- 


84  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


nate  to  the  State,  or  to  what  was  conceived  to 
be  the  social  welfare.  “The  Spartans  continued 
this  extreme  emphasis  on  the  social  aspect  of 
education  and  elaborated  a  scheme  in  which  the 
entire  society  was  organized  for  educational 
ends.”  31  The  results  of  this  abuse  are  apparent 
in  Sparta’s  provincialism,  the  static  condition  of 
her  institutions  and  society,  and  her  failure  to 
make  such  contributions  to  human  progress  as 
were  made  by  Athens. 

In  spite  of  the  social  ideals  of  Jesus,  later 
Greek  individualism  permeated  the  atmosphere 
in  which  Christianity  developed  to  such  an  ex¬ 
tent  that  it  dominated  the  interpretation  of 
Jesus’  life  and  message,  even  when  Greek  in- 
tellectualism  was  repudiated.  The  Christian 
Church  controlled  education  from  the  Sixth  to 
the  Thirteenth  Centuries.  The  aim  of  this  edu¬ 
cation  was  moral  and  disciplinary;  its  content 
was  doctrine  and  training  in  Church  ceremonial. 
It  prepared  the  individual  for  a  future  state. 
There  was  a  call  for  Christian  love  and  charity 
but  it  was  self-centered.  Like  the  good  works 
of  the  Buddhists  these  reacted  to  the  spiritual 
advantage  of  the  individual.  The  idea  that  the 
second  coming  of  Jesus  was  near  at  hand,  be¬ 
ginning  with  Paul’s  ministry  at  Thessalonica 
down  to  the  present  day,  has  been  anti-social  in 
its  consequences.  Paul  endeavored  to  explain  it 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  85 

and  rebuke  those  who  abused  it.  This  belief  was 
particularly  strong  all  through  the  Middle  Ages 
so  that  such  manifestations  as  we  find  of  the 
social  ideal  were  temporary,  and  did  not  repre¬ 
sent  any  purposeful  effort  to  reconstruct  society 
on  ideal  lines. 

The  Renaissance  had  only  one  element  of  the 
social  ideal,  namely,  the  effort  to  relate  the  in¬ 
dividual  more  closely  to  nature  and  to  his  entire 
environment.  Although  more  social,  or  less  in¬ 
tellectual,  than  the  Renaissance,  the  Reforma¬ 
tion  was  too  much  concerned  with  partisan  strife 
and  with  religious  and  theological  controversies 
to  have  any  place  for  a  liberal  social  program. 
It  is  to  be  remembered  that  Luther’s  idea  of 
salvation  was  limited  to  the  elect  and  never  in¬ 
cluded  the  heathen  peoples  at  all.  The  Reforma¬ 
tion  had  a  social  program  but  it  was  like  that 
of  Sparta.  There  appears  to  be  sufficient  ground 
for  believing  that  the  spirit  and  ideals  of  German 
education  and  social  structure  today,  sprang 
from  Luther’s  ideas  of  education.  The  liberty 
which  he  claimed  for  himself,  he  found,  later, 
to  be  difficult  to  grant  to  all  individuals.  Ger¬ 
many  and  Sparta  stand  out  as  effective  warning 
against  this  abuse  of  the  social  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion.  The  interest  of  the  individual  is  subordi¬ 
nate  to  the  interest  of  society  and  society  con¬ 
sists  in  the  nobility,  and  the  military,  intellectual 


86  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


and  social  aristocracy.  Benevolent  paternalism 
takes  good  care  of  the  masses  because  they  are 
valuable  as  producers.  If  Italy,  France,  and 
Great  Britain  are  the  fruits  of  the  classical  ideal 
in  contrast  with  Germany  as  the  product  of  the 
social  ideal,  the  unprejudiced  mind  will  have  no 
trouble  rejecting  this  form  of  the  social  ideal, 
'once  and  for  all.  It  should  be  a  warning  to 
those  who  would  reduce  American  and  Chinese 
education  to  a  system  of  efficient  vocational 
training. 

Another  phase  of  the  social  ideal  remains  to 
be  traced.  There  is  a  distinct  growth  of  this 
ideal  in  the  “realism”  of  the  Seventeenth  Cen¬ 
tury;  again,  the  nature  element  appears  with 
greater  strength  than  in  the  early  Renaissance. 
“Social  realism”  exalts  the  social  method  of  edu¬ 
cation,  but  was  available  only  for  the  privileged 
classes  in  society.  That  Sir  Thomas  More  could 
then  imagine  an  ideal  democratic  society  with 
many  of  the  features  which  are  just  now  being 
realized,  even  though  described  in  satire,  is  very 
significant  of  the  change  of  thought.  Francis 
Bacon’s  utopia,  “The  New  Atlantis,”  gives  added 
weight  to  this  interpretation  of  the  period.  Ex¬ 
cept  in  the  case  of  pietistic  schools  of  Francke, 
the  educational  reforms  of  “sense  realism”  were 
made  subordinate  in  Germany  to  the  social  ideal 
already  described.  Classicism  appropriated  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  87 


real  values  of  this  new  growth  and  emasculated 
the  movement. 

The  social  ideal  appears  again  with  renewed 
vigor  in  the  Naturalistic  Movement  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  Eighteenth  Century,  and  expressed 
itself  in  social  reforms.  There  was  now  intelli¬ 
gent  and  purposeful  effort  to  build  up  an  ideal 
society,  to  improve  the  condition  and  character 
of  the  masses  of  the  people.  Rousseau  was  the 
product  and  the  personification  of  this  move¬ 
ment.  Out  of  this  movement  came  the  first  defi¬ 
nite  steps  toward  an  ideal  society  based  on  a 
Christian  social  ideal,  in  the  revolutions  which 
resulted  in  the  French  Republic  and  the  United 
States  of  America. 

The  psychological,  scientific  and  sociological 
tendencies,  and  the  present  educational  reforms 
have  been  inspired  by  this  same  ideal.  Although 
more  or  less  restricted  by  the  classical  ideal, 
they  constitute  the  direct  line  of  development  of 
the  social  ideal.  Pestalozzi,  Herbart,  Froebel, 
and  others  have  contributed  to  the  development 
of  this  ideal.  It  draws  more  from  Froebel  than 
from  the  others  but  has  made  a  broader  and  more 
practical  application  of  his  principles. 

THE  CHARACTERISTICS 

The  essential  elements  are  just  beginning  to 
take  definite  form.  It  is  not  possible  to  define 


88  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


the  characteristics  of  the  social  ideal  with  the 
precision  and  the  familiar  terms  which  describe 
the  classical  ideal.  In  its  fullest  present  develop¬ 
ment,  it  is  found  in  the  curricula  of  the  Gary 
Schools;  the  Francis  Parker  Schools,  Chicago; 
the  Cottage  School,  Riverside,  Ill. ;  Public  School 
No.  45,  Indianapolis,  Ind. ;  The  Elementary 
School  connected  with  the  University  of  Mis¬ 
souri  ;  the  experimental  school  at  Fairhope, 
Alabama;  and  a  number  of  other  experimental 
schools  in  different  parts  of  the  United  States; 32 
in  higher  education,  in  departments  of  political 
economy  and  political  science  in  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.33  The  great  model  school  pro¬ 
posed  by  the  Rockefeller  Foundation  is  the  cli¬ 
max  of  these  numerous  local  experiments.  A 
study  of  the  characteristics  of  the  social  ideal, 
running  parallel  to  those  of  the  classical,  gives 
additional  clearness. 

Activities  dominate  the  curriculum.  Litera¬ 
ture  and  language  are  simply  the  means  of  the 
educative  process  and  are  brought  forward  only 
as  that  process  makes  demand  for  them.  Eng¬ 
lish  grammar,  composition  and  rhetoric,  as 
special  subjects  for  study,  do  not  appear  on  the 
elementary  and  secondary  curricula  but  are  re¬ 
lated  to  the  activities  of  the  school  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  preserve  their  real  values,  clear¬ 
ness,  accuracy,  and  grace  in  verbal  self-expres- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  89 

sion.34  These  activities  are  the  normal  reactions 
of  the  individual  to  his  natural  ^environment. 

The  human  race  has  not  yet  attained  perfec¬ 
tion  in  the  development  and  use  of  language 
symbols,  but  this  is  no  longer  its  most  important 
task.  In  this  century  of  close  international  con¬ 
tacts  human  society  begins  *a  larger  co-operative 
effort  for  mastery  of  the  forces  of  nature,  or  more 
successful  adaptation  to  these  forces,  as  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  determine.  These  are  two  phases 
of  the  same  social  process  which  now  challenges 
anew  the  spiritual  resourcefulness  of  the  human 
race,  not  simply  of  the  individual  and  the  small 
group. 

The  subject  matter  is  objective  rather  than 
symbolic .  Modern  objective  education  differs 
greatly  from  the  crude  inadequacy  of  primitive 
education  and  that  which  we  have  described  as 
having  gone  on  beside  the  dominating  classical 
ideal.  The  objective  material  is  open  to  all. 
There  is  no  chance  for  an  esoteric  monoply  as 
in  the  case  of  symbols.  Pestalozzi  and  Froebel 
gave  us  the  new  values  and  powers  of  objective 
subject  matter  and  thereby  removed  the  excuse 
for  exclusive  dependence  on  the  symbols  of 

language  for  a  short  cut  to  culture,  which  was 

* 

a  real  necessity  in  the  case  of  Rome  and  Europe. 
The  fact  here  involved  is  very  significant  in  the 
present  stage  of  education  in  China. 


90  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  choice  of  subject  mattej '  is  still  important , 
but  in  different  way.  The  choice  depends  upon 
the  interest  and  capacity  of  the  child  and  his 
environment,  not  upon  the  weight  of  tradition. 
General  terminology  may  be  used  to  classify  cer¬ 
tain  kinds  of  subject  matter  but  the  actual 
material  will  depend  upon  the  location  of  the 
school  and  no  two  communities  furnish  exactly 
the  same  material.  It  becomes  impossible  to  rate 
a  school  on  its  subject  matter.  Its  social  value 
will  be  the  standard. 

This  does  not  mean  that  the  classical  subject 
matter  is  to  be  ignored  and  excluded.  The  atten¬ 
tion  it  receives  will  depend,  not  on  reverence  for 
its  age,  but  on  its  present  and  future  social  value. 
The  Mosaic  symbolism  will  still  be  read  in  the 
synagogues  of  the  chosen  people,  but  the  gospel 
of  the  social  ideal  is  seen  to  be  the  force  that 
produces  new  and  abundant  life  in  the  Gentile 
masses. 

Chosen  subject  matter  is  not  reduced  to  text¬ 
books  which  can  be  set  up  as  comprehensive, 
authoritative,  and  final.  The  greater  variety  of 
subject  matter  will  demand  a  greater  variety  of 
small  textbooks  which  can  be  used  more  as 
reference  books  for  suggestions  to  the  pupil  than 
as  authorities  to  be  memorized  and  recited  to 
the  teacher.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  assign  a 
lesson,  “Review  today’s  lesson  and  prepare  five 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  91 


pages  in  advance,”  and  then  find  a  convenient 
stopping  place  on  the  fifth  page.  The  teacher 
and  the  textbook  are  to  help  the  pupil  learn  and 
not  to  be  standards  by  the  side  of  which  his  own 
immature  limitations  stand  out  as  dismal  fail¬ 
ures  in  spite  of  earnest  effort.  There  is  no  cram¬ 
ming  for  examination,  no  guessing  what  the 
teacher  is  going  to  ask,  no  temptation  to  resort 
to  dishonest  methods  to  find  out  the  questions 
or  to  smuggle  in  material  that  may  help  out  of 
a  difficulty.  The  process  is  an  inner  one  with 
the  child  and  knows  no  outer  authority.  It  is 
a  part  of  his  present,  everyday  life.  It  has  imme¬ 
diate  interest  and  value  to  him.  It  calls  for 
independent  investigation  and  is  a  process  of 
really  original  self-expression.  His  symbolic  ex- 
pression  is  his  own  in  form,  and  is  descriptive 
of  his  own  reactions  to  his  environment.  His 
own  happiness  and  success  in  mastering  his 
present  and  daily  changing  environment,  or 
adapting  himself  to  it,  is  his  great  concern  and 
constitutes  his  continual  review  and  examination 
test. 

The  only  final  and  accepted  authorities  are  the 
fundamental  laws  of  nature,  and  the  individual 
and  social  experience  which  includes  definite  re¬ 
ligious  experience.  Every  individual  is  re¬ 
sponsible  for  his  -own  reactions  to  these  factors 
of  life.  The  social  ideal  must  recognize  that 


92  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


some  individuals  will  react  more  correctly  than 
others,  as  the  classical  has  done,  but  it  avoids 
the  slavish  dependence  on  such  individuals  which 
characterizes  the  mental  attitude  of  so  many 
students  under  the  classical  system.  Mental  and 
moral  disciplinary  values  are  obtained  by  the 
growth  and  direction  of  inherent  powers  of  the 
child,  not  by  obedience  to  external  authorities 
and  conformity  to  standards  that  fitted  other 
times  and  places. 

The  general  viewpoint  is  prospective  not  retro¬ 
spective.  The  social  ideal  faces  the  future  with 
faith,  hope  and  enthusiasm  in  all  human  en¬ 
deavors.  The  Golden  Age  is  something  for  which 
we  can  work  intelligently  rather  than  mourn  over 
because  it  is  past.  It  breaks  entirely  with  early 
Christian  misinterpretation  of  Hebrew  apocalyp¬ 
tic  literature  and  lays  firm  hold  on  the  promises 
of  the  Gospel  concerning  Jesus,  and  on  the  prin¬ 
ciples  of  his  Kingdom  on  earth.  It  expects  and 
works  for  a  perfect  human  society. 

The  aim  is  primarily  construction  rather  than 
conservation.  The  “law  of  variation”  in  intel¬ 
lectual  development  is  the  guiding  principle  in 
the  building  process.  The  social  ideal  conserves 
such  real  values  as  fit  into  the  successive  stages 
of  the  individual’s  development  and  are  useful 
to  society.  It  lays  foundations  now  and  works 
for  a  better  world-society;  it  plans  and  seeks  in- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  93 


telligently  to  build  for  an  ideal  society  in  the 
future. 

The  spirit  of  the  social  ideal  is  cosmopolitan. 
It  knows  no  national  limitations  of  language,  no 
East  nor  West,  no  North  nor  South,  no  sub¬ 
servience  to  a  ruling  class,  nor  interest  of  a 
particular  group  in  opposition  to  the  entire 
human  society.  It  regards  inorganic  nature  as 
well  as  the  world  of  organic  nature.  This  spirit 
is  not  even  world-centric;  it  is  cosmo-eentric, 
and,  therefore,  positively  and  strongly  religious. 
Religion  is  “an  essential  part  of  human  society 
because  it  is  an  essential  part  of  human  ex¬ 
perience,”  in  all  times  and  among  all  peoples. 
It  has  the  vital  religious  spirit  of  Froebel.  Its 
philosophy  is  the  idea  of  the  “fundamental  unity 
of  existence  of  nature  and  of  man  in  the  absolute 
spirit,”  which  he  describes  in  “The  Education  of 
Man.” 

The  social  ideal  offers  no  place  for  the  pro¬ 
vincialism  that  today  characterizes  and  domi¬ 
nates,  to  such  a  large  extent,  all  human  institu¬ 
tions.  This  provincialism  is  rapidly  breaking  up, 
before  our  eyes,  under  the  pressure  of  native 
instincts  and  forces  that  we  have  failed  to  recog¬ 
nize  and  effectively  utilize.  These  forces,  as  in 
Russia,  seem  to  be  more  the  blind  upward  push 
of  humanity  toward  its  realization  of  self  in  fel¬ 
lowship  with  God,  than  of  intelligent  education. 


94  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  social  ideal  boldly  undertakes  the  task  of 
complete  education  for  the  masses.  It  is  not  a 
wholesale  social  movement  that  makes  no  allow¬ 
ance  for  the  principle  of  individual  variation. 
It  does  not  seek  to  provide  elementary  and  voca¬ 
tional  training  for  the  masses,  and  the  higher, 
cultural  education  for  those  in  more  fortunate 
circumstances — the  certain  consequence  of  such 
differentiation  is  the  present  social  unrest,  class 
strife,  and  competition.  It  undertakes  to  pro¬ 
vide  the  masses  with  cultural  material  that  will 
enrich  their  lives  to  the  general  good  of  society. 
It  will  require  all  classes  to  receive  such  prac¬ 
tical  education  as  shall  make  them  share  in  pro¬ 
duction,  or  at  least  have  a  first  hand  experience 
of  the  problems  of  production.  It  seeks  to  break 
down  class  distinctions,  to  equalize  opportunity, 
and  to  accomplish  by  education  what  certain 
powerful  factors  in  Western  civilization  have 
been  threatening  to  do  by  force,  with  all  its 
demoralizing  consequences.  It  finds  the  solution 
of  present  problems  and  the  attainment  of  its 
objective,  a  perfect  society,  in  an  education  of 
all  for  the  common  social  welfare. 

A  genuine  altruism  is  the  motive  force.  The 
social  ideal  recognizes  the  evident  fact  that  a 
perfect  society  is  made  up  of  perfect  individuals. 
If  it  be  maintained  that  there  can  be  no  perfect 
individual,  then  the  fact  remains  that  a  society 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  95 


which  approximates  perfection  depends  on  the 
approximate  perfection  of  all  its  individual 
members.  It  recognizes  the  worth  of  every  in¬ 
dividual,  not  simply  of  a  few  fortunate  ones.  It 
takes  account  of  the  difference  of  natural  endow¬ 
ment  between  individuals,  and  gives  equal  aid  to 
each  one  for  the  highest  development  of  his 
capabilities,  whatever  turn  these  may  take.  It 
honors,  with  impartial  favor,  the  contribution  of 
every  individual,  no  matter  how  humble,  if  that 
service  makes  for  mutual  benefit  in  society.  The 
opportunity  for  good  to  the  individual  is  lim¬ 
ited  only  /by  his  talents  and  capacity  for  hard 
work.  The  motive  which  produces  this  effort  is 
altruistic.  The  emphasis  is  social  and  the  appeal 
is  made  to  the  native  human  instincts  for  co¬ 
operation  which  is  just  as  real,  if  not  so  highly 
developed,  as  the  egoistic  and  competitive  in¬ 
stincts. 

The  social  ideal  in  education  appeals  to  and 
cultivates  the  altruistic  instincts  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual,  in  the  home,  in  the  school,  and  in  all  his 
social  relations.  It  takes  account  of  the  egoistic 
instincts  of  the  pre-adolescent  and  conserves 
their  values  in  character  building.  It  plans  in¬ 
telligently  for  the  victory  of  the  altruistic  in¬ 
stincts  in  the  awakening  sympathies  and  the 
spirit  of  consecration  and  self-sacrificing  .service 
of  adolescence.  It  utilizes  the  legitimate  religious 


96  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


sanctions  in  advancing  its  appeals  to  the  altru¬ 
istic  instincts.  This  is  the  only  appeal  that  can 
free  modern  education  from  crass  materialism 
and  utilitarianism  such  as  has  been  dominant  in 
Germany. 

The  social  ideal  demands  more  than  dissemina¬ 
tion  of  knowledge,  more  than  a  sense  of  social 
unity  and  interdependence  of  groups  or  genera¬ 
tions.  It  is  more-  than  a  means  of  fortifying 
nationalism  as  in  Germany  and  Austria.  It  is 
more  than  a  safeguard  of  democracy.  The  safety 
of  a  democracy  depends  not  simply  on  education 
but  on  the  kind  of  education.  To  state  these 
limitations  is  not  to  detract  from  the  sociological 
movement  in  education  but  to  add  as  it  were  the 
“enacting  clause/’  The  open  appeal  to  the  altru¬ 
istic  instincts,  the  effective  cultivation  of  these 
instincts  in  all  social  relations  in  such  a  way  as 
greatly  to  improve  society,  if  not  to  produce  a 
perfect  society,  is  no  more  unthinkable  than  were 
the  present  advances  at  the  time  Rousseau  gave 
them  their  initial  impulse.  He  was  not  the 
creator  so  much  as  the  creation  of  those  im¬ 
pulses  that  were  already  working  in  many  men. 
He  crystallized  these  impulses  into  symbols.  The 
altruistic  instincts  are  gaining  strength  in  all 
phases  of  life.  The  social  ideal  seeks  to  harness 
their  power  for  the  welfare  of  a  divine-human 
society. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  97 


What  is  the  status  of  the  social  ideal  today? 
In  the  United  States  it  is  growing  steadily  in 
strength  and  in  breadth  of  influence.  It  is 
stronger  in  cities  and  in  the  Middle  West.  Its 
influence  is  apparent  in  the  South.  It  is  evident 
in  the  attempt  to  link  up  general,  religious,  and 
moral  education.  It  is  apparent  in  the  strong 
movement  to  utilize  the  results  of  the  best  and 
latest  studies  in  psychology,  pedagogy,  biology, 
and  sociology  in  all  phases  of  religious  educa¬ 
tion.  Proposed  schemes  for  social  service  cur¬ 
ricula  in  the  Sunday  school,  and  the  emphasis 
which  Christian  leadership  is  placing  on  the 
social  interpretation  of  the  Gospel,  are  an  evi¬ 
dence  of  the  penetrating  influence  of  the  ideal. 
The  introduction  of  voluntary  Bible  study 
courses  of  this  nature,  in  the  colleges,  is  a  part 
of  the  movement  that  is  giving  increasing  defi¬ 
niteness  to  this  type  of  education. 

This  ideal  meets  with  opposition  from  several 
quarters.  Certain  educational  circles  object  be¬ 
cause  it  disrupts  the  classical  and  time-honored 
curricula,  and  introduces  experimental  methods. 
Some  fear  it  means  more  work  for  teachers  who 
are  already  overburdened  and  underpaid;  this 
fear  is  justifiable  when  a  compromise  between 
the  two  ideals  is  attempted. 

Opposition  comes  from  a  political  system  that 
has  regarded  the  various  educational  offices  as 


98  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


political  plums  for  party  support.  The  social 
education  will  dispel  the  ignorance  and  indiffer¬ 
ence  to  politico-social  obligations  that  have  made 
this  political  domination  of  education  possible. 
The  “educated  man”  will  no  longer  be  conspicu¬ 
ous  by  his  absence  from  the  polls  and  justify 
himself  on  the  grounds  that  politics  are  so  rotten 
that  there  is  no  use  to  vote,  as  has  been  notor¬ 
iously  the  case. 

Strong  class  opposition  develops  when  ancient 
privileges  and  distinctions  are  endangered  by  the 
growth  of  the  wider  social  ideal.  This  conflict 
is  inevitable,  but  a  reasonable  adjustment  is 
possible. 

In  spite  of  indifference,  misunderstanding  and 
opposition,  the  ideal  is  steadily  gaining  in 
strength  and  effectiveness.  It  may  show  the 
Western  world  that,  with  all  its  boasted  civ¬ 
ilization  and  development,  it  is  now  only  passing 
from  pre-adolescence  to  the  adolescence  of  human 
social  development,  perhaps  of  intellectual  and 
physical  development. 

In  the  blood-red  light  of  the  recent  world- 
conflagration  and  more  recent  racial  strife,  does 
this  ideal  seem  visionary  and  impracticable? 
Purposive  education  has  already  shown  to  the 
race  its  power  to  work  miracles,  for  good  or 
evil.  Two  further  considerations  furnish  sub- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  99 


stantial  ground  for  a  rational  hope  and  faith  in 
returning  a  negative  answer  to  the  question. 

First,  the  tremendous  world-wide  surging  of 
large  masses  of  people  onward  and  upward  to¬ 
ward  self-determination  is  the  hope  of  the  future. 
Self-control  before  self-determination  would, 
doubtless,  be  our  choice,  but  that  does  not  seem 
to  be  the  law  of  nature.  Russia  has  revealed 
forces  at  work  there  that  the  world  and  human 
authorities  have  not  understood  or  taken  into 
account.  The  same  spirit  is  at  work  in  Germany, 
Japan,  India,  Latin  America,  Korea,  and  China. 
Underneath  the  diplomatic  quarreling  and  selfish¬ 
ness,  there  is  a  remarkable  spread  of  human 
sympathy  among  the  masses  all  over  the  world. 

Second,  there  are  strong  religious  sanctions  for 
faith  in  the  future  achievements  of  the  race. 
These  have  special  meaning  for  the  Christian 
educator  and  are  seen  in  the  prophetic  visions 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testament  times,  the  prom¬ 
ised  reign  of  peace,  the  expectation  of  the  King¬ 
dom  of  God  on  earth.  Jesus’  exhortation  to  men, 
to  be  perfect  as  the  Heavenly  Father  is  perfect, 
indicates  his  belief  that  there  would  be,  on  earth, 
an  effective  social  organization  composed  of  per¬ 
fect  individuals.  Individual  perfection  was  made 
a  reality  in  Jesus.  He  more  clearly  put  this 
ideal  within  the  range  of  human  aspiration  by 


100  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


emphasizing  the  brotherhood  of  man  and  human¬ 
ity’s  common  inheritance  as  sons  of  God. 

There  is  assurance  in  the  fact  that  God  has 
not  left  Himself  without  a  witness  even  among 
the  non-Christian  peoples  of  the  earth.  Finally, 
this  fact  justifies  the  belief  that  He  has  been 
working  out  His  purpose  in  them  as  well  as  in 
nominal  Christian  nations. 

Jesus’  prayer  for  unity  and  human  solidarity 
will  be  answered,  not  by  the  egoistic,  classical 
ideal  in  education,  but  by  the  altruistic,  social 
ideal.  The  history  of  education  warns  us  of  the 
probability  that  those  who  are  leaders  today  in 
the  movement  for  social  education,  have  not  ade¬ 
quately  measured  the  forces  with  which  they 
are  dealing  nor  the  full  significance  of  the  move¬ 
ment  they  have  started.  The  actual  results  ob¬ 
tained  in  these  schools  and  adequately  described 
in  various  books  bring  the  effectiveness  of  the 
social  ideal  in  education  into  the  realm  of  rea¬ 
sonable  certainty. 


CHAPTER  VI 


THE  RELATION  BETWEEN  WESTERN  EDUCATION  AND 

CHINESE  EDUCATION 

The  consideration  of  the  classical  and  social 
ideals  was  not  intended  to  be  complete.  Their 
origin,  development,  and  essential  difference 
were  pointed  out.  The  two  ideals  are  logically 
and  vitally  related  to  the  previous  definition  of 
motives  and  aims.  The  classical  ideal  is  pri¬ 
marily  self-  and  group-centered ;  the  egoistic 
motives  function  in  its  activities.  The  social 
ideal  centers  in  human  society;  only  the  altru¬ 
istic  motives  can  function  successfully  in  its 
activities.  Consideration  of  these  ideals  and 
choice  between  them  is  essential  to  a  satisfac¬ 
tory  adjustment  of  the  relations  between  Chris¬ 
tian  education  and  China’s  national  system  of 
education.  These  relations  are  becoming  in¬ 
creasingly  complex  and  delicate. 

Education  in  China  today  is  more  complex 
and,  perhaps,  more  significant  in  its  bearing  on 
human  education  for  the  future  than  is  educa¬ 
tion  in  Europe  or  America.  The  same  fact  is 

true  of  Japan  and  to  a  certain  extent  of  India. 

101 


102  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

Political  elements  in  India  make  the  problem 
there  more  confusing. 

In  China,  in  the  first  place,  it  is  evident  that 
Western  educators  have  followed  largely  the  tra¬ 
ditional  ideals,  methods  and  subject  matter  of 
education  in  the  countries  from  which  they  came. 

Many  schools  seem  to  be  following  traditional 
methods  without  sufficient  reason,  or  are  deliberately 
aiming  at  American  models  which  were  not  devised  to 
meet  Chinese  conditions.  In  too  many  cases  the  ideal 
seems  to  be  to  set  up  a  curriculum  and  methods  which 
would  be  considered  creditable  in  America.35 

This  quotation  is  from  a  report  on  middle 
schools,  but  it  is  equally  true  of  colleges  that 
agree  to  conform  to  American  standards  in  order 
to  secure  the  privilege  of  granting  degrees.  In 
fact,  the  older  and  higher  curriculum  is  partly 
responsible  for  this  condition  in  the  elementary 
and  secondary  schools. 

It  is  equally  evident  from  the  many  books  and 
discussions  of  the  last  decade  that,  even  in  the 
United  States  where  important  modifications 
have  been  made,  the  classical  ideal  is  dominant. 
The  demand  for  a  change  is  insistent  and  will 
win  over  the  opposition  of  the  traditionalists. 
If  the  change  is  not  accomplished,  there  is  much 
reason  to  fear  that  the  United  States  will  go 
the  way  of  a  free  and  classic  Greece. 

Education  in  China  is  complex  because  of  its 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  103 

task  of  preserving  the  real  traditional  values 
of  two  systems,  their  own  ancient  and  splendid 
civilization  and  the  Western  civilization;  in  the 
case  of  the  latter,  they  have  not  only  to  pre¬ 
serve,  but  to  assimilate  and  utilize  the  complex 
values  of  the  more  progressive  civilization.  Edu¬ 
cation,  in  the  West  now,  is  more  nearly  a  unity 
because  Greek  and  Roman  ideals  have  so  thor¬ 
oughly  permeated  the  development  of  Western 
civilization. 

The  West  has  not  generally  recognized  that 
it  has  anything  to  learn  from  the  East.  When, 
through  new  international  relations,  this  lesson 
is  learned,  the  task  of  assimilation  and  utiliza¬ 
tion  will  not  be  as  great  as  that  which  the  East  is 
now  facing.  The  West  has  the  abundant  life 
which  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  has  brought; 
the  East  has  that  to  assimilate  and  interpret  for 
itself. 

History  does  not  present  an  exact  analogy  in 
cross-fertilization  of  civilizations.  In  Europe 
there  was  the  merging  of  a  classical  civilization 
with  barbarism,  in  Asia  there  is  the  merging  of 
a  classical  civilization  with  an  Eastern  classical 
civilization.  The  world  today  is  dissatisfied  with 
both  of  the  systems,  and  eagerly  seeks  for  some¬ 
thing  better.  In  the  West  there  never  was  the 
problem  of  taking  over  Greek  religion;  in  the 
East  there  is  the  problem  of  teaching  the  re- 


104  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


ligious  classics  of  the  West  which  adds  a  third 
distinct  factor.  The  early  Christianity  which 
Europe  got  from  the  East  presented  a  vastly 
different  problem  in  education  from  that  which 
the  West  today  offers  China. 

Education  in  China  is  particularly  significant 
because  it  involves,  in  clearer  outline  and  exag¬ 
gerated  form,  almost  all  the  problems  that  the 
West  is  so  hotly  discussing,  particularly  in  Eng¬ 
land  and  the  United  States. 

For  instance,  there  is  the  disputed  question 
of  the  form,  nature  and  quantity  of  subject  mat¬ 
ter.  The  West  is  finding  it  impossible  to  teach, 
with  thoroughness  and  efficiency,  all  the  subject 
matter  that  is  clamoring  for  admission  to  the 
curriculum.  China  has  nearly  all  of  this  ma¬ 
terial  and  other  subjects  that  are  not  yet  worry¬ 
ing  American  educators.  Japanese  educators 
fear  that  they  have  so  over-loaded  their  curricu¬ 
lum  as  to  give  only  a  smattering  of  any  subject. 
The  results  are  superficial  and  “cultural”  in  the 
artificial  sense  of  that  term.  The  same  process 
is  at  work  in  China  but  is  not  quite  so  far  along. 
The  clamour  of  all  this  subject  matter  becomes 
unendurable.  Some  radical  change  in  educa¬ 
tional  ideals  must  come  in  sheer  self-defence,  if 
for  no  better  reason.  There  are  better  reasons. 
If  they  prevail,  the  results  of  Christian  educa- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  105 

tion  in  China  will  be  vastly  more  beneficial  to 
humanity  than  Christian  education  in  the  West 
has  been.  Subject  matter  will  be  forced  into  a 
second  place  by  sheer  inability  of  its  advocates 
to  find  room  for  it  all. 

There  must  be  a  clear  choice  between  instruc¬ 
tion  in  subject  matter  for  personal  culture,  and 
the  training  and  natural  development  of  indi¬ 
vidual  endowments  for  social  efficiency.  A  com¬ 
parative  study  of  education  in  China  and  Japan, 
and  the  practical  demonstration  there  of  the 
necessity  and  desirability  of  choosing  the  latter 
alternative  may  make  the  solution  of  the  vexed 
question  clearer  to  Western  educators  than  it 
now  appears  to  be.  If  it  does  this,  we  shall  see 
one  more  place  where  foreign  missionary  work 
has  reacted  beneficially  on  our  Western  insti¬ 
tutions. 

It  will  be  profitable,  at  this  time,  to  place  in 
parallel  columns,  specimens  of  the  typical  classi¬ 
cal  curriculum  in  the  United  States,  the  typical 
curriculum  of  Christian  schools  in  China  of  the 
corresponding  grade  and  the  socialized  curricu¬ 
lum  of  the  same  grade.  It  is  desirable  to  make 
the  parallels  for  the  entire  systems  but  the  speci¬ 
mens  will  probably  serve,  at  least,  to  illustrate 
two  points  just  mentioned :  First,  that  Christian 
education  in  China  is  predominantly  classical; 


106  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


second,  that  the  admission  of  subject  matter  has 
reached  a  crisis. 

The  mission  school  curriculum  cited  was  ap¬ 
proved  by  the  Central  China  Educational  Asso¬ 
ciation  and  published  in  the  China  Educational 
Review ,  July,  1916.  Since  that  time  there  have 
been  some  improvements  but  no  radical  changes. 
The  required  number  of  hours  per  week  has  been 
reduced,  but  it  is  still  considerably  higher  than 
in  secondary  and  higher  schools  in  the  West. 
Any  enrichment  of  the  curriculum  without  radi¬ 
cal  change  of  ideal  and  method  only  increases 
an  already  overloaded  curriculum. 

In  addition  to  present-day  problems,  China 
has  also  problems  that  have  been  left  behind  in 
the  development  of  Western  education.  Particu¬ 
larly  important  is  the  question  of  the  medium  of 
imparting  the  subject  matter.  Shall  it  be  Eng¬ 
lish,  German,  French,  Classical  Chinese,  vernacu¬ 
lar  or  colloquial  Mandarin,  or  a  modified  form 
of  the  old  ideograph  similar  to  the  improvements 
the  Japanese  have  made? 

It  is  necessary  to  consider  more  thoroughly 
those  Chinese  ideals  in  education  with  which 
Christian  education  comes  in  contact.  We  should 
clear  our  judgment,  at  first,  by  acknowledging 
that  the  present  Chinese  ideals  in  education  are 
very  different  from  the  Chinese  ideals  of  twenty- 
five  years  ago.  The  most  optimistic  believer  in 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


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108  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


“Democratized  Curriculum,”  88 
Covering  Primary  and  Secondary  Period 


“Democratized 

Curriculum ” 


“ Production 


“ Consumption ” 


Language  (vernacular) 

Practical  Mathematics — portions  of  arithmetic,  alge¬ 
bra,  geometry. 

Elements  of  Manufacturing — materials,  processes, 
mechanical  drawing,  manual  training. 

Elements  of  Agriculture — soils,  crops,  animals,  etc. 

Science's — productional  phases  of  botany,  physics, 
geology,  mineralogy,  chemistry,  etc. 

Conservation  of  Wealth — sanitation,  fire  prevention, 
natural  resources. 

Trades — choice  of  many  current  trades  for  boys  and 
girls. 


“Distribution” 


Current  Political  Events 
Social  Movements 
Economic  History 
Distribution  of  Wealth 
War 

International  Peace 
The  Elective  Franchise 
Comparative  Government 
Direct  Legislation 
Labor  Organizations 
Socialism 
Money 
Graft 

Corporations 

The  Middleman 

Banking 

Insurance 

Modern  Business 

Constitutions 

Civics 


Slavery 
Feudalism 
Inheritance 
Taxation 
Political 
Parties 
Charity 
Old  Age 
Relief 
Investment 
Frauds 
Cooperation 
Parliamentary 
Practice 
Sociology 
Law 


Literature 

History 

Music 

Painting 

Sculpture 

Architecture 

Ethics 

Foreign  Languages 
Sciences — non- 
productional  as¬ 
pects 

Recreations 
The  Stage 
Travels 

Qualities  of  Goods 
Home  and  Personal 
Appointments 
Social  Usage 
Grammar 
Elocution 
Logic 
Philosophy 
Floriculture 
Hygiene 
Vice 
Crime 


the  Chinese  would  not  expect  them  to  break 
entirely  with  their  past  ideals  in  a  single  gen¬ 
eration.  It  is  a  very  important  transition  period, 
but,  with  all  the  improvements  that  have  been 
made,  it  is  very  evident  from  recent  reports  of 
government  education  that  old  ideals  dominate 
and,  in  their  conflict  with  the  new  social  and 
economic  demands,  much  confusion  results. 

V\  China  has  had  her  own  classical  system  of 
education.  The  subject  matter  has  long  been 
called  “the  classics.”  All  the  characteristics  of 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  109 


the  ideal,  as  discussed  in  a  preceding  chapter,  are 
present. 

Education  has  been  available  only  for  a  limited 
number  of  individuals;  David  Z.  T.  Yui  says 
97  per  cent  are  illiterate;  the  Minister  of  Edu¬ 
cation,  Chang  Ih  Ling,  assumes  more  than  99 
per  cent  of  the  population  are  illiterate.39 

The  subject  matter  has  been  confined  to  sym¬ 
bols  and  consisted  in  the  study  of  language, 
literature,  and  rhetoric.  The  original  texts  were 
the  final  authority.  The  very  characters  were 
holy.  Paper  was  carefully  saved  and  burned  to 
avoid  soiling  or  defiling  the  symbols.  Perfect 
imitation  was  the  desired  end;  deviation,  even 
with  the  desire  to  improve,  meant  failure  for  the 
student  in  the  examination.  Memory,  not  origi¬ 
nality  and  inventiveness,  was  the  means  to  the 
end.  Chu  Tzu  (1130-1120  A.D.),  in  an  essay, 
“On  the  Method  of  Study,”  said :  “You  must  not 
introduce  any  private  opinion”  (into  the  writing 
of  the  sages).40  The  mass  of  commentaries  re¬ 
minds  one  of  the  cosmopolitan  period  of  Greek 
education  and  numerous  stereotyped  commen¬ 
taries  on  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 

The  text  was  memorized  and  repeated  orally. 
The  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  the  characters 
followed  several  years  later.  This  method  is  a 
little  more  evidently  and  honestly  useless  than 
most  of  the  work  done  in  Western  schools  with 


110  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

the  Greek  and  Latin  classics.  The  Chinese  clas¬ 
sics  are  at  least  the  production  of  the  Chinese 
people  and  constitute  a  national  inheritance. 

The  efficiency  of  the  teacher  and  the  capacity 
of  the  student  were  minor  considerations.  Such 
thought  as  came  to  them  through  belated  ex¬ 
planations  was  retrospective  and  conservative 
rather  than  progressive  and  constructive.  The 
authority  of  the  ancestors  and  the  authority  of 
scholars  determined  everything  in  all  relations 
of  life.  The  provincialism  and  exclusiveness  of 
China  and  Japan  have  been  a  by-word  in  the 
West.  For  a  striking  likeness  between  Chinese 
and  Western  classicism  read  almost  any  history 
of  education  for  a  description  of  Chinese  educa¬ 
tion  and  then  read  the  description  of  a  European 
school  by  Diesterweg. 

The  place  of  the  individual  in  this  system  is 
as  significant  as  in  the  study  of  Western  classi¬ 
cism  and  the  social  ideal.  It  is  not  surprising  to 
find  that  education  and  self-culture  of  the  in¬ 
dividual  is  the  first  consideration,  and  the  con¬ 
sequences  are  the  same  as  in  the  West.  “By 
giving  the  five  teachings  a  foremost  place,  Chu 
Tzu  would  make  clear  the  aim  of  learning  and 
point  out  the  important  steps  in  the  course  from 
the  stage  of  self-culture  to  the  transaction  of 
affairs  and  social  duties.”  41  “The  key-note  to 
self-culture :  Let  your  words  be  sincere  and 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  111 


truthful,  and  your  actions  honorable  and  care¬ 
ful;  repress  your  anger,  restrain  your  vicious 
desires,  cleave  to  the  good  and  correct  your 
faults.”  “The  key-note  of  social  duties:  What 

you  do  not  want  done  to  yourself,  do  not  to 

**• . 

others.”  42  “The  promising  sons  of  the  people 
entered  the  university,  where  they  were  taught 
philosophy,  the  principles  of  morals,  self-culture 
and  the  government  of  men.”  43  Chu  Tzu  gave 
his  interpretation  of  the  “Great  Learning,”  hop¬ 
ing  that  it  might  “not  be  without  some  help  to 
the  country  in  the  advance  of  civilization  and  the 
correction  of  manners,  and  to  the  students  as  a 
guide  to  self-culture  and  the  government  of 
men.”  44 

Practically,  the  desire  for  education  and  the 
effort  to  secure  it,  lies  in  the  egoistic  instincts. 
The  family  desires  the  emoluments,  fame  and 
power  that  a  place  in  the  scholar  class  gives,  and 
great  sacrifices  are  made  in  the  hope  of  securing 
these  private  advantages.  Not  only  is  there  gain 
of  this  character  to  the  individual  and  his  fam¬ 
ily,  but  also  to  his  community — a  limited  group 
interest. 

The  individual  element  is  present  in  Chinese 
classical  ideals  of  education  but  the  ultra-indi¬ 
vidualism  that  has  characterized  Western  classic¬ 
ism  is  not  apparent.  The  other  characteristics 
of  the  Western  classical  ideal  have  been  paral- 


112  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

leled  in  the  Chinese.  In  the  Chinese  educational 
system  there  were  elements  other  than  those 
described.  There  is  no  desire,  here,  to  show  that 
the  results  of  Chinese  classicism  were  wholly 
bad.  It  is  possible,  even  probable,  that  a  more 
thorough  study  of  Chinese  literature  for  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  their  educational  ideals  and 
methods,  will  reveal  protests  and  reform  move¬ 
ments  in  the  history  of  Chinese  education  that 
parallel  in  principle,  if  not  in  definiteness  and 
strength,  the  reforms  that  have  given  the  Western 
classical  ideal  its  influence. 

Preparatory  to  a  fuller  consideration  of  the 
Social  Ideal  in  Chinese  education,  we  should 
note  some  of  these  other  elements.  We  go  back 
to  Chu  Tzu  again  as  one  of  China’s  leading  edu¬ 
cators;  he  recognizes  the  value  of  performing 
the  everyday  duties  as  an  essential  part  of  a 
child’s  education,  and  places  these  things  first 
in  “What  Children  Ought  to  Know.”  45 

The  duty  of  every  office  and  the  rule  of  every  action, 
however  small  and  minute  they  may  be,  may  protect 
a  child’s  mind  from  becoming  profligate,  may  nourish 
his  virtuous  nature  and  be  the  leading  steps  in  his 
future  progress  and  advancement.  I  wish  those  who 
are  fathers  and  elder  brothers  would  not  regard  these 
things  as  trifling  knowledge,  and  would  teach  them 
strictly  to  the  infants  (or  young  children).46 

Students  were  not  to  be  mere  “bookworms” 
in  the  times  of  Mencius;  the  pupils  did  the  jani- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  113 


tor  work;  they  also  learned  “the  elements  of 
carriage  and  deportment,”  “the  principles  of  eti¬ 
quette,  music,  archery,  driving.”  47  “Experience 
which  was  gained  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life, 
in  the  five  relationships”  was  the  foundation  of 
the  education  of  early  times. 

Criticism  of  the  rote  method  and  literary  for¬ 
malism  appears  in  the  Twelfth  Century  A.D. 
“From  that  time  (Fourth  Century  B.C.)  to  the 
present  the  vulgar  scholars  continued  to  learn 
by  rote;  they  studied,  wrote  poems  and  essays, 
yet  it  was  valueless.”  48  In  the  second  clause, 
Chu  Tzu  is  not  necessarily  inconsistent  with 
what  he  said  in  the  first.  Some  had  rhymed  over 
the  classics  but  had  not  laid  hold  on  their  inner 
meaning ;  others  had  produced  poems  and  essays 
that  imitated  form  closely  but  had  expressed  in¬ 
dividual  opinions  which  Chu  Tzu  did  not  approve. 

There  was  outright  condemnation  of  the  selfish 
and  unsocial*  “Further  you  have  those  who 
babble  about  military  strategy,  gaining  glory  by 
subtle  arts  (astrology),  all  which  spring  from 
selfish  ambitions,  and  diabolical  schemes.”  49 

“What  Children  Ought  to  Know”  is  very  re¬ 
pressive  of  the  natural  instincts  of  the  child  but 
no  more  so  than  the  disciplinary  education  of 
the  West ;  its  attempt  to  make  the  child  a  minia¬ 
ture  adult  reminds  us  of  the  educational  ideas 
against  which  Kousseau  reacted  so  strongly. 


114  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  importance  of  the  intuitive  factors  in  edu¬ 
cation  seems  to  appear  :  “Tell  them  that  what 
they  know  from  childhood  on  the  love  to  parents, 
respect  to  elders,  is  the  beginning  of  manhood, 
and  the  foundation  of  learning.  Do  not,  on  any 
account,  destroy  and  confuse  what  he  intuitively 
knows,  by  the  popular  saying,  ‘The  object  of 
study  is  to  get  a  degree.’  ”  50  “Extensive  study ; 
accurate  inquiry;  careful  reflection;  clear  dis¬ 
crimination  ;  and  earnest  practice” 51  sound 
almost  like  the  inductive  method.  The  impor¬ 
tance  of  mental  self-discipline  and  method  is 
acknowledged.  The  principle  of  apperception  is 
faintly  recognized  also. 

The  importance  of  the  social  ideal  is  very  evi¬ 
dent  in  the  following  quotations: 

Nothing  is  more  important  than  an  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion.  This  all  know.  But  the  world  generally  means 
by  ideal  an  ambition  for  honors  and  name:  an  aiming 
at  wealth  and  emoluments.  And  every  boy  is  misled 
by  this  when  he  starts  his  studies.  Therefore,  when 
people  boast  of  good  abilities,  they  really  mean  more 
than  a  wide  reading  of  books  and  a  liberal  composing 
of  essays,  and  have  further  knowledge  of  such  a  filial 
duty,  brotherhood,  loyalty  and  fidelity,  and  their  impli¬ 
cation.  Mr.  Chu  pointed  out  that  when  men  had  no 
true  ideal  it  was  owing  to  their  seeking  honor  and 
riches  rather  than  truth  and  justice  by  their  studies. 
Men  want  position  and  a  name  rather  than  goodness 
and  virtue.  In  teaching  young  men,  this  should  be 
pointed  out  clearly  to  them.52 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  11 5 


I  see  that  the  exalted  purpose  of  all  the  ancient 
sages  in  teaching  people  learning,  was  no  other  than 
to  make  them  understand  the  truth  and  principle  of 
all  things  in  order  to  cultivate  their  persons  and  then 
extend  this  idea  to  others.  It  was  not  merely  the  wish 
that  men  might  have  a  wide  knowledge  of  books,  or  be 
able  to  compose  nice  essays,  or  acquire  fame,  honor 
and  riches.53 

The  italics  are  mine ;  one  sees  both  the  egoistic 
and  social  elements  in  this  passage. 

But  the  laws  of  nature  forbid  you  to  put  yourselves 
outside  the  sphere  of  human  relationship.  Mencius 
says :  “Watch  carefully  over  the  teaching  in  the  schools, 
spread  abroad  the  feelings  of  filial  piety  and  of  brotherly 
love.”  Again  he  says:  “When  our  duty  to  humanity 
is  emphasized  by  those  in  authority,  love  reigns  amongst 
those  beneath  them.  .  .  .  The  scholar  and  the  agri¬ 
culturist  have  only  one  common  destiny :  for  he  is  also 
a  scholar  who  tills  the  ground  with  his  hands,  seeing 
that  he  applies  himself  to  his  duties  and  follows  right 
principles.”  64  Education  lies  in  the  industries  as  well 
as  in  the  literature. 

In  addition  to  these  fine  sounding  phrases,  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that  Confucius,  who  personi¬ 
fies  them  all,  sacrificed  home,  comforts,  and  the 
favor  of  men  for  the  sake  of  his  ideals  for  social 
reform;  many  have  sacrificed  their  lives  by  sui¬ 
cide  in  protest  against  unsocial  and  immoral  con¬ 
duct  on  the  part  of  those  in  positions  of  author¬ 
ity,  particularly  of  the  rulers. 

Chu  Tzu  tried  the  experiment  of  student  re- 


116  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

sponsibility  and  self-government  in  the  White 
Deer  Grotto  College,  in  the  Twelfth  Century; 
he  condemned  school  rules  as  lacking  in  dignity 
and  tending  to  destroy  self-reliance.55  The  moral 
and  religious  elements  are  very  strong: 

Joy  obtained  through  religion  is  an  everlasting  joy. 
Sorrow  awaiteth  the  joy  which  comes  through  the  satis¬ 
faction  of  the  passions;  but  he  who  listens  to  religious 
words  and  rejects  the  desires,  will  have  the  joy  of  Yen 
Tzu  and  Mencius.  Turn  the  body  and  you  get  it.56 

( The  idea  of  nearness  suggests  also  the  thought 
that  “the  kingdom  is  within  you.”) 

Why,  with  the  recognition  and  reiteration  of 
all  these  splendid  moral  and  religious  principles, 
is  Chinese  society  in  its  present  condition?  The 
answer  is  found  in  Confucius’  doctrine  of  the 
“superior  man.”  It  is  the  fundamental  notion 
in  the  three  books  especially  in  the  Analects.57 
“For  all  who  are  not  holy  by  nature,  the  way  of 
the  superior  man  stands  open.”  The  whole 
Conf ucian  morale  leads  directly  to  this ;  the 
Chun-tzu  (Superior  Man)  is  the  proper  funda* 
mental  idea  of  the  whole  system.”  58  Faber  states 
the  teaching  of  the  “Great  Learning”  under  eight 
heads.  These  seem  to  reveal  the  emphasis  on 
intellectual,  emotional,  and  moral  self-cultiva¬ 
tion,  and  the  expression  of  self-perfection  in  the 
social  relations :  “Distinction  of  things”  and 
“completion  of  knowledge”  relate  to  the  intel- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  117 


lectual  development;  “veracity  of  intention,”  to 
the  moral;  “rectification  of  the  heart,”  to  the 
emotional.  “Cultivation  of  the  whole  person” 
relates  to  the  conduct  of  the  superior  man,  as 
do  also,  “management  of  the  family,”  “govern¬ 
ment  of  the  state,”  and  “peace  for  the  whole 
empire”  which  refer  to  “external  efficiency  in 
reference  to  other  men.”  “Self-perfection  is 
humanity.” 59  The  superior  man  “cultivates 
himself  with  reverential  care  and  in  this  way 
gives  rest  to  the  people.”  60  “From  the  emperor 
down  to  the  mass  of  the  people,  all  must  con¬ 
sider  the  cultivation  of  the  person  the  root  of 
everything  besides.”  61  “Here  is  our  elegant  and 
accomplished  prince!  ...  so  has  he  cultivated 
himself.”  62  A  recent  Chinese  scholar  and  states¬ 
man,  speaking  of  the  “aims  of  the  Hunan  modern 
school,”  says :  “Confucius  acted  on  the  principle 
that  ‘to  raise  one’s  self  is  to  raise  others.’  ”  This 
principle  is  true  but  works  only  indirectly  and, 
in  both  the  West  and  the  East,  there  are  only  too 
many  examples  which  show  that  the  benefit  to 
others  is  not  always  apparent.  This  seems  to 
be  in  the  mind  of  the  speaker  when  he  goes  on 
to  quote  the  following  from  I  Yin:  “When  I 
see  one  man  or  one  woman  in  the  country  who 
has  not  gained  any  help  from  me,  I  feel  as  if  I 
had  pushed  him  or  her  into  a  ditch.”  63  The 
egoistic  instincts  make  possible  self-exaltation 


118  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

and  self-education ;  they  are  not  the  instincts 
that  confer  the  same  benefits  on  others. 

The  selections,  given  above,  show  the  splendid 
moral  and  spiritual  values  behind  the  formal, 
classical  Chinese  education.  The  failure  of  the 
classical  ideal  in  China  is  a  convex  mirror  in 
which  we  may  see,  in  enlarged  proportions,  the 
failure  of  our  own  ideal.  The  final  consequences 
when  our  system  is  as  old  as  the  Chinese  may  be 
forecast.  It  suggests  what  our  education  might 
be  now  but  for  the  definite  modifying  influence 
of  our  economic,  social  and  religious  factors. 
The  Confucian  superior  man  and  the  Western 
ultra-individualism  and  superman,  spiritual  or 
physical,  have  more  than  a  superficial  relation; 
they  are  the  same  in  motive,  and  in  the  method 
of  education  by  which  the  ideal  is  perpetuated. 
Some  might  prefer  Confucianism  to  “kultur.” 

The  similarity  between  the  two  classical  ideals 
may  be  summarized,  briefly:  (1)  the  nature  of 
the  subject  matter  is  literary,  symbolical;  (2) 
the  moral  principles  appear  in  the  moral  and 
religious  exhortation  of  both  Chinese  classics 
and  Hebrew  religious  classics;  (3)  the  method 
emphasizes  memory,  dependence  on  textbook  and 
authority,  differing  in  degree  rather  than  in 
quality. 

The  fundamental  problem  is  then  a  problem 
of  motive  that  will  vitalize  this  subject  matter 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  119 


and  make  these  lofty  ideals  really  function.  It 
is  impossible  to  make  the  Chinese  believe  that 
the  Western  world  has  realized  and  is  domi¬ 
nated  by  the  lofty  ideals  of  Jesus  Christ,  when 
they  compare  what  they  have  heard  preached 
with  what  has  recently  happened  in  Europe. 
They  will  accept  our  interpretation  easily  enough 
and  become  nominal  Christians  when  they  recog¬ 
nize  the  essential  common  ground  and  the  addi¬ 
tional  advantage  that  Western  Christianity 
offers.  What  can  the  Western  classical  ideal 
of  education,  founded  on  the  egoistic  instincts, 
reasonably  be  expected  to  accomplish  in  supply¬ 
ing  the  motive  force  which  China  needs,  today, 
in  order  to  realize  the  Kingdom  of  God? 

What  has  been  said  of  the  Chinese  classical 
education  does  not  ignore  the  educational  re¬ 
forms  since  1895.  These  reforms  have  been 
modeled  chiefly  after  the  educational  methods  of 
the  United  States  and  Germany  as  those  werqf 
adapted  by  Japan.  China  is  trying  to  break  the 
grip  of  the  “dead  hand”  in  custom  and  tradition, 
but  with  difficulty  and  discouragement. 

When  we  first  heard  of  the  new  schools,  we  believed 
that  they  embodied  a  healthy  desire  and  an  honest 
wish  to  benefit  the  educational  system.  .  .  .  The 
cause  of  their  (“the  notables  and  literati”)  sudden 
change  appears  more  clearly  at  present.  A  look  at  the 
modern  schools  shows  that  they  are  founded  chiefly 
through  a  desire  for  gain.64 


120  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


A  few  men  and  women  are  literally  giving  their 
lives  in  wonderful  self-sacrifice  to  promote  those 
movements  which  promise  to  break  the  bondage 
of  the  past. 

The  Chinese  are  also  conscious  of  the  fact  that 
their  reformed  education  is  failing  to  meet  their 
present  needs.  There  was  held  in  Pekin,  October, 
1916,  an  educational  conference  under  the  au¬ 
spices  of  the  Ministry  of  Education.  During  the 
conference 

it  was  pointed  out  that  though  many  schools  have  been 
established,  in  this  country,  they  are  not  meeting  the 
needs  of  the  times.  We  require  our  students  to  go  from 
the  primary  school  to  the  middle  school  and  then  to 
the  university,  without  any  effort  to  prepare  them  for 
their  work  in  making  a  living  after  they  leave  school 
and  without  regard  to  their  aptitude.  The  present 
system  culminated  in  the  university,  but  the  percentage 
of  students  who  go  to  the  university  is  comparatively 
email. 

Another  speaker  said: 

The  fruits  of  the  middle  school  are  not  good  and  they 
are  of  no  benefit  to  society.  The  causes  are  two.  In 
the  first  place,  the  aim  for  our  middle  schools  is  mis¬ 
understood.  The  original  aim  was  to  give  sufficient 
common  education  to  our  students,  but  this  somehow 
has  been  changed  to  mean  to  prepare  students  for  higher 
education.  For  this  reason  we  have  the  pitiable  spec¬ 
tacle  of  seeing  so  many  graduates  who  do  not  go  on 
to  pursue  a  higher  course  and  who  cannot  do  anything 
to  make  a  living.  .  .  .  According  to  the  reports  of 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  121 


the  delegates  from  different  provinces,  the  number  of 
middle  school  graduates  who  take  the  higher  course  is 
below  10  per  cent.  .  .  .  So  it  is  plain  the  duty  of 
the  school  authorities  is  not  to  devote  all  their  energies 
for  the  good  of  a  few,  but  to  make  the  course  of  the 
middle  school  so  practical  that  the  large  number  of 
graduates  who  must  stop  going  to  school  will  be  quali¬ 
fied  and  equipped  to  make  a  living.  .  .  .  Because 
we  have  put  a  wrong  interpretation  to  the  aim  of  the 
middle  school  course  and  have  merely  tried  to  advance 
knowledge,  our  graduates  are  proud  and  are  unwilling 
to  accept  humble  positions.65 

These  complaints  have  a  strangely  familiar 
sound.  It  is  worth  noting  that  it  took  the  West 
longer  to  realize  these  facts  than  it  has  China. 
Japan  has  met  the  same  result. 

The  Chinese  do  not  see  their  way  out  clearly. 
They  are  looking  to  industrial  and  vocational 
training  as  their  salvation.  Will  they  better 
their  conditions  by  changing  from  a  literary  to 
an  industrial  autocracy?  They  are  trying  to 
hold  to  both  types;  this  means  class  education. 
The  Chinese  see  the  practical  problems  in  their 
task  and  are  showing  remarkable  adaptability  in 
solving  them,  as  shown  by  the  following  recom¬ 
mendation  : 

The  committee  hit  upon  two  principles  and  one 
method  for  reforming  the  middle  schools.  The  first 
principle  is  that  the  aim  of  the  middle  school  is  to 
give  sufficient  common  education  and  to  prepare  stu¬ 
dents  for  their  life  work  or  to  go  to  the  university. 


122  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  second  principle  is  that  the  middle  school  should 
aim  to  train  young  men  to  do  the  ordinary  work  of 
society  and  not  to  fit  them  for  high  positions.  The 
method  is  that  the  middle  school  should,  beginning 
with  the  third  year,  give  courses  in  vocational  training 
according  to  local  conditions.  But  the  courses  are  to 
be  optional  to  students  who  wish  to  take  a  higher 
course.66 

This  was  confirmed  by  the  National  Educa¬ 
tional  Association  meeting  in  Canton  in  Novem¬ 
ber,  1921.  The  social  ideal  alone  can  meet  this 
present  situation  and  avoid  the  dangers  of  the 
literary  and  industrial  types  of  class  education. 

What  share  has  Christian  education  in  the 
responsibility  for  this  present  educational  situa¬ 
tion  in  China?  It  has  come  with  the  best  in¬ 
tentions  and  has  introduced  some  influences  that 
have  been  very  helpful  to  the  progress  of  the 
Chinese ;  today,  Christian  educational  leaders 
are  facing  the  greatest  responsibility  in  making 
a  choice  between  continuing  the  classical  ideal 
and  laboriously  working  out  the  new  social 
ideal. 

China’s  own  task  is  great  enough  in  breaking 
the  bondage  pf  the  long  centuries  of  classical 
domination  in  education  and  its  related  social 
institutions.  The  history  of  education  in  the 
West  throws  a  flood  of  light  on  the  situation  in 
China. 

Christian  education  must  be  careful  not  to  in- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  123 


crease  the  greatness  of  China’s  task.  It  brings 
a  new  religious  classic,  the  Bible,  which  must 
be  taught  in  the  Christian  schools.  It  intro¬ 
duces  a  system  of  general  education  that  is 
frankly  classical,  and  is  generally  from  ten  to 
twenty  years  behind  what  is  best  in  the  West. 

The  situation  in  the  middle  schools  is  par¬ 
ticularly  serious,  as  shown  by  the  report  of  the 
Committee  appointed  to  investigate  conditions 
in  these  schools. 

The  first  lack  that  impresses  the  Committee  is  that 
of  a  modern  educational  viewpoint  on  the  part  of  many 
heads  of  middle  schools.  .  .  .  With  a  few  exceptions 
they  were  apparently  not  in  close  touch  with  the  most 
recent  educational  theory  and  practice,  although  nearly 
all  of  them  (the  principals)  were  anxious  to  get  new 
ideas.67 

It  is  highly  important  that  this  anxiety 
carry  them  beyond  a  few  superficial  methods,  to 
such  a  complete  over-hauling  of  their  curricula 
as  to  meet  the  living  conditions  in  China.  There 
have  been  and  are  some  educators  who  are  trying 
to  do  this.  It  is  unfortunate  that  the  significance 
of  their  work  is  not  more  generally  understood. 

The  crux  of  the  problem  for  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  in  China  lies  in  a  clear,  frank  choice  be¬ 
tween  the  classical  and  social  ideals.  This  is 
not  to  deny  that  there  are  values  in  the  classical 
ideal  which  can  and  should  be  conserved.  To 


124  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

grant  this  is  only  to  assert  the  more  strongly  that 
there  should  be  a  clear  choice  of  the  social  ideal 
and  not  a  compromise  between  the  two.  To  com¬ 
promise  is  only  to  lose  those  values  eventually. 
No  more  temerity  is  necessary  to  recommend 
such  absolute  choice  of  the  social  ideal,  now, 
than  was  needed  to  set  up  the  classical  ideal  of 
the  West  as  the  model  education  for  China. 

The  charge  that  Christian  education  in  China 
is  predominantly  of  the  classical  type  does  not 
ignore  the  various  efforts  of  individuals  who  are 
striving  to  crystallize  the  social  ideal,  nor  the 
progress  that  lias  been  made  since  1916,  in  middle 
school  curricula  for  mission  schools.  It  makes 
no  exception  in  the  case  of  those  schools  and 
colleges  which  continue  to  teach  natural  and 
social  sciences  by  the  deductive  method,  with 
unmodified  Western  textbooks  and  stereotyped 
laboratory  experiments  which  have  no  relation 
to  the  life  of  the  Chinese  student,  and  which  are 
performed  under  direction  rather  than  in  the 
spirit  of  investigation  suitable  to  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  student.  There  is  an  increasing 
number  of  individual  teachers  who  are  trying  to 
work  out  the  “inductive-deductive”  method  with 
its  various  modifications  and  link  the  subject 
matter  to  the  life-problems  of  the  student. 

We  must  not  deceive  ourselves  with  super¬ 
ficial  methods. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  125 


The  social  spirit  is  applied  to  every  phase  of  thought 
and  action,  and  has  come  strongly  to  control  education. 
This  new  spirit  has  to  struggle  with  the  traditions  of  a 
former  day  that  are  already  beginning  to  disappear. 
Consequently,  many  who  profess  to  hold  the  social  view¬ 
point  are  failing  to  live  out  its  implications  in  their 
schools.  Educational  missionaries  have  more  reason 
than  any  other  educators  in  the  world  for  desiring  to 
have  their  schools  exercise  a  powerful  social  influence 
in  the  surrounding  communities.68 

So  far  as  schools  still  teach  textbooks  and  rely  upon 
the  principle  of  authority  and  acquisition  rather  than 
upon  that  of  discovery  and  inquiry,  their  methods  are 
Scholastic — minus  the  logical  accuracy  and  system  of 
Scholasticism  at  its  best.  Aside  from  laxity  of  method 
and  statement,  the  only  difference  is  that  geographies 
and  histories  and  botanies  and  astronomies  are  now 
part  of  the  authoritative  literature  which  is  to  be  mas¬ 
tered.69 

China  is  nominally  a  republic.  Judging  from 
her  own  history  and  from  world-movements,  to¬ 
day,  the  change  is  permanent.  Western  classical 
education  has  developed  under  monarchical  and 
aristocratic  social  orders,  except  in  the  case  of 
the  United  States.  Where  is  the  reasonable¬ 
ness  or  moral  fitness  in  putting  such  an  ideal 
on  a  new  and  growing  democracy? 

Shall  Christian  education  continue  to  be  party 
to  such  an  absurd  anachronism?  Shall  we 
propagate  the  ideal  of  authority  in  education,  or 
shall  we  turn  courageously  to  the  democratic 
ideal?  Shall  we  encourage  the  Chinese  to  per- 


126  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

gist  in  the  “futile,  never-finished  effort  to  dom¬ 
inate  one  another,”  which  is  the  essential  cor¬ 
relate  of  scholastic  ideals,  or  shall  we  teach  them 
to  “engage  in  the  co-operative  task  of  dominating 
nature  in  the  interest  of  humanity?”  It  seems 
that  the  issues  involved  in  the  late  European  war 
should  decide  our  choice  in  favor  of  the  latter 
task.  Shall  we  deliberately  support  an  ideal  in 
education  which  creates  and  emphasizes  class  dis¬ 
tinctions  instead  of  building  up  fundamental 
common  interest? 

If  we  seek  the  social  reconstruction  of  China, 
can  anything  short  of  selfish  egotism  prompt  us 
to  bring  to  China  a  system  of  education  under 
which  our  Western  society  is  not  half  Christian 
and  from  which  we  are  now  trying  to  escape? 
Is  Christianity  the  religion  of  a  select  minority, 
or  is  it  the  religion  of  the  masses?  Did  Jesus 
go  to  the  rich,  the  learned,  the  powerful,  or  did 
he  go  to  the  common  people?  The  classical  ideal 
builds  up  an  intellectual  and  social,  if  not  re¬ 
ligious,  aristocracy ;  the  social  ideal  provides  for 
all,  with  justice  to  all. 

Shall  we  continue  to  disregard  the  relation 
between  the  subject  matter  and  the  life  of  the 
students  and  teach  European  botany  from  a 
Western  textbook  in  a  land  so  rich  in  flora  as 
China?  A  concrete  instance  of  this  disregard  is 
recorded  of  a  mission  school  in  India.  If  this 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  127 


instance  cannot  be  duplicated  in  China,  the 
principle  is  the  same  when  the  students  are 
stuffed  with  textbooks  of  an  alien  civilization. 
As  in  Europe,  this  fact  tends  to  accentuate  the 
unfortunate  dualism  of  mind  and  matter,  science 
and  religion,  the  intellectual  and  the  natural. 
Western  education  still  has  before  it  the  task  of 
“overcoming  this  separation  in  education  if 
society  is  to  be  truly  democratic.”  Physical  and 
industrial  education  are  contributing  greatly  to 
this  end. 

How  can  we  render  our  best  service  to  China? 
Shall  we  encourage  her  to  borrow  her  new  civili¬ 
zation  wholesale,  by  the  short-cut  of  the  classical 
system?  Or  shall  we  help  her  to  construct  it 
more  slowly  out  of  her  own  rapidly  changing 
social,  economic,  moral,  and  religious  conditions? 
Shall  we  perpetuate  the  older  humanism  which 
omits  economic  and  industrial  conditions  from 
its  purview?  Shall  we  train  a  class  for  direct 
social  control,  or  shall  we  have  an  educational 
ideal  that  brings  abundant  life  to  all  classes? 
Leaders  can  be  properly  trained,  with  this  larger 
objective  in  mind.  The  work  we  are  doing  makes 
leaders,  but  we  need  to  consider  what  kind  of 
leaders  we  are  making  and  whither  they  are 
leading.  The  social  ideal  holds  the  promise  of 
a  more  fruitful  Christian  education  in  China. 

Within  the  last  two  years  (1921-22),  there  has 


128  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


appeared  in  China  a  growing  resentment  of  the 
manner  in  which  Western  civilization  is  being 
presented.  This  has  crystallized  in  the  anti- 
Christian  movement  that  seems  to  have  started 
in  Shanghai,  took  definite  form  in  Pekin  Uni¬ 
versity,  and  swept  over  the  country.  The  spirit 
of  imperialistic  classical  “kultur”  and  prose- 
lytism  is  largely  responsible  for  this  new  devel¬ 
opment.  An  educational  and  general  missionary 
program  that  shares  but  does  not  impose  its 
values,  will  remove  the  primary  causes  of  this 
unfortunate  development.  The  movement  may 
or  may  not  be  serious  in  its  consequences.  It 
is,  however,  significant  of  the  impressions  that 
the  Chinese  are  getting  from  Christian  educa¬ 
tion,  and  of  the  relation  between  Christian  and 
government  education  in  China. 


CHAPTER  YII 


THE  PROBLEM  AND  THE  VALUES 

Christian  missions  and  Christian  education 
are  face  to  face  with  the  new  national  conscious¬ 
ness  in  China.  Political  conditions  are  unsettled, 
but  the  awakening  self-consciousness  grows  by 
leaps  and  bounds  among  the  young  Chinese.  It 
has  expressed  itself  in  national  politics,  national 
education,  international  relations,  and  in  the 
administration  of  mission  schools  and  general 
mission  work.  It  is  evident  in  the  present  anti- 
Christian  movement  among  the  Chinese  govern¬ 
ment  students.  There  has  grown  up  during  1920 
and  1921  a  spirit  that  is  critical  of  everything 
old,  whether  it  be  Chinese  or  foreign.  It  is  more 
critical  of  the  foreign  influence  in  China  and 
believes  it  sees  a  subtle  relation  between  Chris¬ 
tian  missions,  Western  politics  and  gunboats. 
Christian  missions  have  hoped  for,  and  have  con¬ 
tributed  to  this  general  situation.  It  has  its 
dangers  and  difficult,  unpleasant  features.  It 
need  not  be  a  crisis  if  Christian  education  and 
mission  policy  are  able  to  make  the  necessary 

fundamental  changes  that  should  have  been  made 

129 


130  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

sooner  but  can  no  longer  be  delayed.  Satisfac¬ 
tory  and  effective  adjustment  to  the  national  con¬ 
sciousness,  so  as  to  correlate  it  with  the  growing 
international  consciousness,  is  the  great  problem 
of  Christian  education. 

Christian  missions  as  represented  by  the  vari¬ 
ous  mission  societies  are  becoming  conscious  of 
this  critical  situation.  The  appointment  of  the 
Educational  Commission  that  visited  China  re¬ 
cently  gives  reason  to  hope  that  steps  will  be 
taken  to  deal  with  the  situation,  before  it  is  too 
late.  The  changes  that  will  be  required  in  order 
to  save  the  situation  will  involve  fundamental 
conceptions  of  motives,  ideals,  aims,  and  values. 
Changes  of  methods,  alone,  will  soon  demonstrate 
their  superficiality  and  ineffectiveness.  Can 
Christian  education  be  radical?  If  Christianity 
goes  to  the  roots  of  life  and  is  able  to  make 
radical  changes,  Christian  education  can  be 
radical  and  will  have  the  courage  and  faith  to 
go  to  the  foundation  of  the  structure  it  seeks 
to  build. 

Christian  education  must  have  a  distinctive 
value  in  the  national  development  of  the  Chinese, 
if  it  is  to  continue  to  exist.  The  rapid  develop¬ 
ment  of  nationalism  in  China,  as  in  Japan  and 
India,  carries  with  it  the  consciousness  that  there 
is  a  national  cultural  heritage  to  preserve  and 
that  education  is  the  means  of  preserving  that 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  131 


inheritance.  Christian  education  must  merge 
itself  with  this  spirit  of  nationalism  so  as  to 
avoid  creating  a  hostile  reaction  from  the  leaders 
of  national  education,  and  still  make  a  contribu¬ 
tion  of  such  distinctness  and  value  that  these 
leaders  will  recognize  it,  welcome  it,  and  leave  it 
free  to  work. 

If  Christian  education  only  gives  modern  scien¬ 
tific  knowledge,  its  days  are  numbered.  The  gov¬ 
ernment  education  will  supply  the  knowledge  of 
modern  physical  and  social  science  without  spe¬ 
cial  consideration  of  spiritual  interpretation  and 
values.  Christian  education  must  be  ready  to 
supply  the  same  wonderful  mass  of  world-knowl¬ 
edge  together  with  the  spiritual  interpretations 
and  values  which  Christianity  has  to  contribute 
to  the  redemption  of  society.  This  work  can  be 
accomplished  only  by  concentrating  all  its  forces 
at  a  few  strategic  centers,  making  its  educational 
contributions  of  the  very  highest  quality,  keeping 
in  advance  of  national  education  in  distinct  prac¬ 
tical  and  social  values,  and  doing  this  in  a  spirit 
of  co-operation  that  is  entirely  free  from  the 
spirit,  or  appearance  of  rivalry  or  proselytism. 
Christian  education  must  trust  its  values  to  make 
their  own  appeal  to  the  national  conscience,  so 
that  leaders  will  come  to  its  institutions  as  they 
seek  certain  popular  institutions  in  the  West 
which  offer  the  best  in  educational  theory  and 


132  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


application.  Mission  education  has  nothing  in 
China,  or  elsewhere,  that  compares  in  efficiency 
and  freedom  of  research  with  these  institutions. 

These  interpretations  cannot  be  given  effec¬ 
tively  in  schools  that  deal  simply  with  abstract 
philosophies  apart  from  the  vital  educative  proc¬ 
ess,  not  even  if  that  philosophy  be  the  same  as  is 
given  in  that  process.  There  are  several  good 
reasons  why  this  is  necessarily  true.  The  trans¬ 
fer  from  the  abstract  truth  to  the  concrete  situa¬ 
tion  has  been  unsatisfactory  in  classical  educa¬ 
tion,  in  religion,  and  in  ethics;  the  laboratory 
method  is  essential.  The  most  important  consid¬ 
eration  is  that  a  very  few  will  deliberately  enter 
a  school  which  seems  to  the  majority  so  remote 
from  life-needs. 

The  final  test  of  Christian  education,  whether 
judging  the  value  of  motives,  ideals  and  aims,  or 
methods  and  devices,  is  the  degree  in  which  these 
elements  help  the  Chinese  in  making  their  ad¬ 
justment  to  material  and  spiritual  environment. 
This  environment  is  not  static  but  progressive, 
and  the  adjustments  should  be  made  in  the  light 
of  probable  developments  in  the  next  generation, 
but  the  main  test  lies  in  adequately  meeting  the 
present  actual  needs  of  society. 

The  present  situation  offers  an  entirely  differ¬ 
ent  basis  for  the  estimate  of  values  from  that 
which  prevailed  when  education  began  in  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  l S3 

Christian  schools  of  China.  Our  knowledge  of 
the  comparative  development  of  the  peoples  of 
the  earth  has  increased  greatly,  through  compara¬ 
tive  studies  of  philology,  philosophy,  anthropol¬ 
ogy,  ethnology,  religion,  social  control  and  edu¬ 
cation,  within  the  last  ten  years.  The  recent 
studies  in  the  history  of  education  and  philosophy 
of  education  have  added  much  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  values  of  our  own  educational  ideals  and 
methods.  Great  political  movements  and  the  so¬ 
cial  upheaval  in  Europe  are  producing  serious 
reconsideration  of  all  our  social  institutions,  re¬ 
ligion  and  education  included.  It  is  no  longer 
possible  to  believe  in  a  static  philosophy  of  life 
in  any  of  its  phases. 

The  value  of  Christian  education,  then,  de¬ 
pends  on  its  close  relation  to  the  life-needs  of 
human  society  and  the  degree  in  which  it  aids 
the  race  in  developing  and  directing  those  in¬ 
stincts  by  which  all  its  highest  ideals  may  be 
carried  out  in  the  most  complete  manner.  Chris¬ 
tian  education  has  this  fundamental  relation  to 
the  Chinese  as  a  part  of  human  society.  The 
value  does  not  depend  on  the  amount  of  knowl¬ 
edge  imparted  through  the  acquisition  of  facts, 
but  in  the  training  and  development  of  instincts 

V 

which  regulate  the  conduct  of  the  individual  in 
the  interest  of  the  race.  The  value  depends  upon 
the  extent  to  which  the  human  factors  in  educa- 


134  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

tion  work  with,  and  not  in  opposition  to,  the  di¬ 
vine  factors.  God’s  purpose  for  the  human  race 
seems  to  be  His  ultimate  purpose;  His  purpose 
for  the  individual  is  as  important  but  it  is 
contributory. 

The  first  consideration,  then,  in  a  search  for 
the  values  of  Christian  education  in  China,  is  a 
thorough  study  of  the  whole  range  of  the  needs 
of  Chinese  society  in  vital  relation  with  a  world- 
society.  Christian  education  there  did  not  start 
^ith  any  such  study.  It  started  with  the  idea 
that  we  had  something  they  ought  to  have  and, 
for  various  reasons  already  discussed,  we  have 
done  our  best  to  see  that  they  got  it,  though  we 
have  not  quite  resorted  to  Mohammedan  or  Prus¬ 
sian  methods.  It  took  for  granted  that  what  had 
apparently  satisfied  our  needs  would  meet  the 
needs  of  the  Chinese — a  notion  that  no  intelligent 
educator  today  will  seek  to  support  with  serious 
argument. 

The  attitude  taken  toward  the  several  fields 
which  cover  the  range  of  human  needs,  is  im¬ 
portant.  Each  field  covers  a  vast  amount  of  new 
and  old  material.  Each  special  field  has  a  con¬ 
tribution  to  make,  but  the  real  value  of  the  con¬ 
tribution  depends  on  its  availability  in  other 
fields.  The  specialist  who  regards  his  own  field 
as  the  only  one  worthy  of  consideration  and 
draws  his  conclusions  accordingly,  limits  his 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  135 


own  usefulness  and  misses  the  spirit  of  the  times. 

God  is  working  out  His  purpose  in  these  vari¬ 
ous  fields,  slowly  but  surely,  in  an  orderly  man¬ 
ner.  The  laws  of  the  process  He  is  continually 
revealing  to  humanity  through  the  social  inter¬ 
action  of  individuals  as  He  has  always  done.  The 
times  make  the  individual  as  much  as  the  indi¬ 
vidual  makes  the  times,  and  humanity  must  come 
to  see  God  working  in  it  all.  There  is  no  place 
for  a  vague  pantheism,  a  narrow  atheism,  nor  a 
bigoted  theism  in  such  an  attitude. 

The  study  of  these  fields  in  their  relation  to 
Christian  education  gives  reality  to  Christian 
faith  and  reveals  the  spiritual  significance  of  the 
material  elements  and  natural  processes  which 
are  such  a  large  and  essential  part  of  life.  No 
one  of  these  fields  is  an  end  in  itself ;  all  are  essen¬ 
tial  factors  in  the  growth  of  the  ideal  human  so¬ 
ciety  which  the  teaching  of  Jesus  warrants  us  in 
expecting,  and  challenges  us  to  work  with  God  to 
realize. 

We  may  not  work  ahead  of  God,  independently 
of  God,  and  we  must  be  very  sure  that  we  are  not 
working  in  opposition  to  Him.  The  difficulty  of 
knowing  just  how  best  to  work  with  Him  should 
restrain  from  dogmatism  in  any  field  and  should 
cause  us  to  keep  an  open  mind  for  each  new  truth 
of  God’s  unfolding  universe. 

It  is  only  within  the  last  hundred  years  that 


136  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


we  have  come  to  realize  that  nothing  is  static. 
Even  death  itself  is  a  process  of  change.  What 
folly  to  seek  to  reduce  this  varied  and  abounding 
life  to  a  nice  system  of  human  thought  which  pro¬ 
vides  only  for  its  own  eternal  self-perpetuation ! 
When  will  men  learn  the  evident  lesson  of  the 
centuries  preceding  the  Renaissance,  particularly 
of  the  Thirteenth  Century,  when  life  was  reduced 
to  a  unified,  static  condition  such  as  the  world 
had  never  seen  before  nor  has  attained  since? 
What  is  involved  in  the  divine  ideal  of  a  perfect 
society,  in  all  its  elements,  is  impossible  for  hu¬ 
man  mind  to  conceive.  Mankind  is  still  so  far 
away  from  that  divine  event  that  it  may  trust 
God,  even  if  the  growing  process  stop,  to  provide 
life  sufficient  to  prevent  stagnation  and  dead 
formalism. 

We  are  now  concerned  with  that  growing  proc¬ 
ess  and  its  characteristic  needs  as  they  appear  in 
China.  The  unity  of  the  race  depends  upon  the 
realization  of  its  common  human  needs  and  also 
on  mutual  intelligent,  sympathetic  co-operation 
as  the  one  means  of  adequately  meeting  those 
needs.  As  this  realization  functions  in  family, 
larger  social  groups  and  nations,  to  give  unity 
and  to  satisfy  common  needs,  its  application  to 
the  entire  human  society  is  but  a  logical  and  final 
step.  It  is  probable  that  the  God-given  social 
instinct  will  contribute  as  largely  to  the  unity 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  137 


as  will  the  conscious  effort  of  men,  though  this 
does  not  excuse  man  from  his  obligation  to  use 
conscious  and  intelligent  effort  to  accomplish  this 
social  unity. 

Under  all  the  variety  of  individuals  and  groups, 
there  are  fundamental  likenesses  and  common 
needs.  Race  and  class  distinction  are  not  based 
on  scientific  exactness ;  Mongolians,  studied  from 
the  standpoint  of  pigmentation,  show  such  varia¬ 
tion  that  it  is  impossible  to  tell  where  the  yellow 
race  leaves  off  and  the  white  race  begins. 

The  fundamental  needs  of  the  Chinese  are 
based  on  the  primary  biological  and  psycholog¬ 
ical  factors  which  constitute  the  basis  of  all  life. 
They  may  be  grouped  under  the  following  heads : 
Economic,  Protective,  Recreative,  Cultural,  So¬ 
cial — including  family  and  community,  Moral, 
Religious,  and  Educational.  As  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  interprets  and  meets  these  needs,  its  rela¬ 
tive  value  will  become  apparent  to  the  Chinese. 
The  degree  in  which  Christian  education  appeals 
to  and  satisfies  the  growing  national  conscious¬ 
ness,  will  determine  whether  the  present  prob¬ 
lematic  situation  will  become  an  opportunity  or 
a  fatal  and  final  crisis. 


CHAPTER  VIII 


BASAL  FACTORS — BIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL 

The  value  of  religion  and  education  depends 
on  the  degree  in  which  they  are  directly  related 
to  the  entire  field  of  life-phenomena.  When 
either  limits  itself  to  a  particular  class  of  these 
phenomena  it  loses  its  perspective,  becomes 
formal  and  steadily  deteriorates  in  value  or  fails 
to  achieve  any  great  value.  To  say  that  there  is 
no  religion  or  education  that  is  not  in  some  way 
related  to  life,  will  probably  meet  with  no  serious 
objection;  that  they  involve  every  phase  of  life, 
is  not  yet  so  generally  recognized,  though  many 
are  emphasizing  the  fact. 

Man  is  only  one  of  the  many  species  of  animals 
struggling  for  existence  and  for  more  extensive  and 
complete  living.  In  general,  he  is  subject  to  the  same 
laws  of  life,  growth,  and  evolution  as  the  other  animals. 
Like  many  other  animals  he  is  found  in  groups  and 
this  group  life  is  one  of  the  means  of  enabling  him  to 
survive  as  a  species.  His  social  instincts  and  his  in¬ 
telligence  make  it  possible  for  him  to  co-operate  and 
thus  to  get  more  benefit  from  the  group  life  than  can 
almost  any  other  animal.  .  .  .  He  has  gained 
supremacy  through  skill  of  hand,  intelligence,  and 
efficient  group  activity.  .  .  .  Man  greatly  modifies  his 
environment;  animals  adapt  themselves  to  it.70 

138 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  139 


Individually  and  racially,  the  first  interests 
are  the  instinctive  interests  of  the  animal.  The 
characteristic  functions  of  even  the  lowest  forms 
of  organic  life,  both  plant  and  animal,  are  recep¬ 
tive,  assimilative,  and  reproductive  or  active. 

The  success  of  these  fundamental  life-processes 
rests  on  two  considerations.  It  depends,  first,  on 
the  extent  to  which  the  individual  or  the  race 
masters  the  environing  forces  of  nature.  The 
second  condition  is  satisfactory  adjustment  to 
the  unmastered  natural  forces  and  to  the  spir¬ 
itual  forces  of  the  universe.  There  is  significance 
in  the  fact  that  primitive  man,  even  civilized 
man  in  some  instances,  regards  many  of  the 
purely  mechanical  and  material  forces  of  nature 
as  among  the  spiritual  forces.  In  discovering  his 
mistakes  about  some,  man  has  jumped  to  the  un¬ 
warranted  conclusion  that  all  these  forces  are 
purely  material.  It  is  one  thing  to  deny  the 
spiritual  forces  entirely ;  it  is  quite  another  thing 
to  know  those  forces  and  understand  their  laws. 
There  will  be  a  distinct  gain  for  humanity  when 
it  realizes  that  spiritual  forces  work  according 
to  definite  laws;  there  will  be  still  greater  prog¬ 
ress  when  it  learns  and  co-operates  with  those 
laws. 

It  has  happened  that,  wdien  man  could  not  mas¬ 
ter  these  environing  forces,  he  sought  to  appease 
them  and  adapt  himself  to  them  to  the  best  of 


140  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


his  ability.  Mastery  and  adaptation  have  re¬ 
sulted  in  education;  the  efforts  to  appease  have 
produced  religion,  and  both  education  and  re¬ 
ligion  are  very  real  in  the  complex  process  of  life. 

BIOLOGICAL  FACTORS 

Christian  education  can  secure  satisfactory 
and  effective  adjustment  to  the  Chinese  national 
consciousness  only  on  the  basis  of  the  definite, 
comprehensive,  and  fundamental  facts  of  biology, 
psychology  and  social  heredity.  It  is  not  possible 
to  separate  these  factors :  biological  heredity  and 
social  heredity  are  closely  inter-related. 

Some  of  these  facts  that  are  related  directly 
to  the  educational  work  are  cited  and  loosely 
grouped  on  the  basis  of  the  three  functions  of 
the  simplest  forms  of  life,  nutrition,  assimilation, 
reproduction. 

The  Chinese  people  have,  for  centuries,  lived 
a  quiet,  settled  life.  They  were  probably  an  agri¬ 
cultural  people  from  the  beginning,  rather  than  a 
nomadic  race  as  some  have  supposed.  They  live 
close  to  nature;  they  cultivate  the  soil  for  their 
food  and  for  the  cotton  which  constitutes  a  large 
part  of  their  clothing.  Their  houses  are  made 
from  the  clay  in  the  form  of  bricks  and  tiles  of 
varying  quality.  In  the  central  and  southern 
parts  of  the  country  the  water  furnishes  much  of 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  141 


their  food  supply  and  is  also  used  for  irrigation. 
The  animals  are  domesticated  and  make  im¬ 
portant  contributions  to  the  food  and  clothing 
of  the  people. 

While  the  Chinese  have  acquired  great  skill  in 
some  forms  of  manufacture,  they  do  this  work 
largely  by  hand,  or  with  the  aid  of  crude  ma¬ 
chines  which  are  operated  by  hand  or  foot  power. 
It  is  still  a  first-hand  struggle  with  the  forces  of 
nature,  none  of  which  is  successfully  harnessed 
to  help  solve  the  problem  of  getting  a  living. 
This  fact  does  not,  however,  put  them  more  than 
a  hundred  years  behind  the  West  in  this  matter. 
The  fine  carving,  embroidery,  weaving,  lacquer 
work,  wood  and  metal  work  are  evidence  of  the 
biological  asset  in  their  manual  skill. 

There  is  no  effective,  rational  mastery  of  dis¬ 
ease  by  knowledge  of  medicine  and  proper  sanita¬ 
tion.  This  ignorance  and  helplessness  has  forced 
them  to  work  out  certain  devices,  characteristic 
of  peoples  living  under  these  conditions,  which 
have  seemed  to  them  to  improve  their  possibilities 
of  life  and  health. 

The  great  mass  of  the  people  is  involved  in 
these  general  biological  conditions.  Circum¬ 
stances  have  made  them  frugal  and  industrious. 
They  work  from  early  morning  till  late  at  night. 
There  is  a  certain  small  part  of  the  population 


142  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


which  social  institutions  have  to  a  slight  extent 
emancipated  from  this  bondage,  but  not  a  suf¬ 
ficient  number  to  affect  our  generalizations. 

The  fact  that  the  population  which  the  coun¬ 
try  supports  averages  over  one  hundred  to  the 
square  mile  and,  in  some  provinces,  numbers 
more  than  six  hundred  to  the  square  mile,  is  con¬ 
vincing  biological  evidence  that  the  Chinese  pos¬ 
sess  a  high  degree  of  intelligence.  The  problems 
that,  of  necessity,  arise  from  such  living  condi¬ 
tions  require  also  a  considerable  degree  of  effi¬ 
cient  group  activity. 

The  Chinese  have  made  important  changes  in 
the  plant  and  animal  life  of  the  country.  The 
water  buffalo  is  an  important  factor  in  the  cul¬ 
tivation  of  the  soil;  its  habitat  is  India  and 
Egypt,  and  it  is  not  found  elsewhere  in  the  North 
Temperate  Zone  except  where  it  has  been  im¬ 
ported.  The  Chinese,  probably,  introduced  the 
buffalo  for  agricultural  use.  The  cultivation  of 
tobacco  appears  later  in  their  history.  The  poppy 
was  long  known  for  medicinal  purposes,  but  culti¬ 
vation  of  the  plant  on  a  large  scale  is  a  matter  of 
comparatively  recent  history  in  international  re¬ 
lations.  Strawberries,  pears,  and  apples  have 
been  introduced  from  the  West,  with  varying 
success. 

Parts  of  China,  as  in  the  Yangtze  Valley, 
quickly  become  a  jungle  when*  left  uncultivated. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  143 

This  fact  indicates  that  the  Chinese,  in  some  early 
period,  destroyed  a  heavy  growth  of  timber  to 
make  room  for  their  fields. 

The  people  have  not,  shown  any  particular  abil¬ 
ity  to  improve  the  plants  and  animals  by  breed¬ 
ing  and  selection.  The  pears,  which  were  intro¬ 
duced  by  a  missionary,  have  deteriorated  because 
of  insufficient  attention  to  selection  and  proper 
cross-fertilization. 

In  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  the  people  are 
very  industrious.  They  are  careful  to  supply 
such  fertilizing  material  as  is  available;  straw, 
leaves,  grass  are  burned,  and  the  ashes,  even  the 
ashes  from  the  cooking  ranges,  are  saved  and  re¬ 
turned  to  the  soil.  The  hills  are  burned  off  in 
order  that  the  rains  may  wash  the  ashes  down 
into  the  fields  below,  or  into  the  small  reservoirs. 
These  are  cleaned  out  frequently  and  the  rich 
mud  from  the  bottom  is  spread  on  the  fields. 
They  have  found  that  certain  crop  rotation  in¬ 
creases  the  productivity  of  the  soil. 

If  we  broaden  the  scope  of  the  biological  fac¬ 
tors  to  include  the  law  of  diminishing  returns 
and  the  Malthusian  law,  we  shall  discover  some 
important  elements  for  determining  our  educa¬ 
tional  values.  The  data  is  as  much  a  part  of  the 
economic  considerations  as  of  the  biological. 

Agriculture  has  reached  the  point  where  the 
increase  in  labor  does  not  result  in  a  correspond- 


144  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

in g  increase  in  tlie  product.  There  is  needed  a 
scientific  study  of  the  soil,  the  improvement  of 
seeds,  the  use  of  land  that  is  dormant  under  pres¬ 
ent  limited  knowledge  of  kinds  of  seeds.  The  in¬ 
troduction  and  intelligent  use  of  improved  tools 
will  help  to  nullify  the  law  of  diminishing 
returns. 

China  seems  to  stand  today  where  Europe 
stood  about  a  century  ago,  when  Malthus  ad¬ 
vanced  his  famous  law.  The  increased  number 
of  human  beings  does  not  furnish  food  enough 
to  maintain  life.  This  is  shown  by  the  frequent 
and  wide-spread  famines  and  the  large  number 
of  people  who  almost  continually  live  on  the 
verge  of  starvation,  even  in  sections  that  are 
not  directly  affected  by  famines.  The  develop¬ 
ment  of  Western  civilization  has  shown  a  de¬ 
creasing  birth  rate  along  with  the  rising  intelli¬ 
gence  of  the  masses.  Malthus’s  theory  was  dis¬ 
proved  and  the  East  may  take  hope  for  relief 
from  the  present  crowded  conditions.  Closely 
related  to  these  considerations  are  the  results 
of  the  latest  studies  in  eugenics  and  euthenics. 
Shall  the  change  come  in  China  as  it  has  in  the 
West,  largely  in  ignorance  and  violation  of  the 
laws  of  life?  Does  the  Christian  God  desire  His 
children  to  be  born  and  to  live  continually  under 
the  conditions  that  now  exist  in  the  dense,  pov¬ 
erty-stricken  countries  of  the  East?  If  it  is 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  145 


wrong  to  take  life,  is  it  not  as  certainly  wrong 
to  put  life  where  it  is  sure  to  be  taken  by  slow 
and  terrible  suffering?  Christian  education  has 
an  opportunity  to  meet  and  answer  these  vital 
questions. 

The  same  forces  that  have  worked  to  decrease 
the  birth  rate  in  the  West  are  beginning  to  work 
in  China.  First,  industrial  conditions  will  repeat 
themselves ;  life  interests  will  increase  in  number 
and  complexity.  The  cost  of  living  has  been  ris¬ 
ing  steadily  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years. 
There  must  be  a  decrease  of  birth  rate  or  an  in¬ 
crease  in  infanticide  and  adult  death  rate,  unless 
there  is  marked  increase  in  food  production. 
Second,  China  is  on  the  road  to  democracy :  this 
tendency  will  increase  the  emphasis  on  learning ; 
the  masses  will  steadily  become  more  intelligent 
and  better  educated;  the  effect  on  the  increase 
of  population,  probably,  will  be  the  same  as  it 
has  been  in  the  West.  Third,  modern  scientific 
education  is  sweeping  away  the  superstitions  on 
which  ancestor  worship  has  rested  so  securely. 
Ancestor  worship  has  been  the  chief  cause  of 
early  marriages  and  large  families;  the  Chinese 
are  fond  of  their  children,  but  the  reproductive 
instinct  is  probably  no  stronger  than  in  any  other 
people.  There  is  an  organized  movement  on  the 
part  of  educated  young  Chinese  to  break  up  the 
old  custom  of  early  marriages;  the  number  of 


146  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

generations  to  the  century  will  decrease  by  half, 
if  this  movement  accomplishes  what  it  has  set 
out  to  do.  Fourth,  modern  medical  and  surgical 
science  may  be  expected  to  decrease  the  death 
rate,  particularly,  the  infant  mortality;  already 
it  has  stampd  out  the  pneumonic  plague  and  has 
made  a  decided  impression  on  China’s  old  enemy, 
the  cholera ;  dysentery  yields  to  better  food  and 
sanitation ;  tuberculosis  is  receiving  special  atten¬ 
tion  all  over  the  country.  A  lower  birth  rate  will 
meet  the  social  and  economic  requirements. 

The  forces  of  nature  to  be  mastered  are  in¬ 
ternal  as  well  as  external,  creative  as  well  as  en¬ 
vironmental.  The  forces  of  heredity  and  varia¬ 
tion  function  in  China,  as  in  the  West,  and  if 
studied,  understood,  and  obeyed,  will  preserve  a 
good  racial  heritage  and  provide  for  better  vari¬ 
ants;  or,  if  ignored,  will  continue  to  perpetuate 
the  mental  and  physical  defects  which  are  now  so 
apparent. 

As  compared  with  Western  people,  the  Chinese 
have  done  very  little  recently  to  modify  their  en¬ 
vironment  ;  they  are  living  as  they  have  lived  for 
centuries.  As  compared  with  the  savage,  in 
acquired  productiveness  of  the  soil  and  in  the 
manufacture  of  the  things  needed  in  such  a  popu¬ 
lous  community,  there  is  evidence  of  a  high  de¬ 
gree  of  mastery  over  the  forces  of  nature.  The 
Chinese  have  not  been  successful  in  harnessing 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  147 


such  forces  as  water,  steam,  heat,  electricity,  and 
air.  Superstition  has  prevented  them  from  de¬ 
veloping  resources,  particularly  the  mineral  re¬ 
sources,  although  they  knew  how  to  use  these 
metals  to  their  very  great  advantage. 

When  the  struggle  shifts  from  survival  to  so¬ 
cial  position,  the  harmony  or  the  bitterness  of 
that  new  struggle  will  depend  on  the  kind  of  edu¬ 
cation  we  give  in  the  time  that  intervenes.  Class 
education  will  bring  a  repetition  of  the  selfish 
individualism,  uncurbed  authority  in  politics, 
education  and  religion,  which  has  produced  the 
cruelty  of  the  European  war  and  of  modern  in¬ 
dustrial  and  commercial  competition.  Education 
in  social  co-operation  will  help  to  bring  the  peace 
and  harmony  of  an  ideal  human  society.  The 
students  of  this  generation  must  be  prepared  for 
the  experiences  of  the  next  generation  as  far  as 
possible.  Christian  education  must  face  these 
biological  factors,  frankly  and  courageously,  and 
recognize  their  value  in  its  task  of  uplifting 
China. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  FACTORS 

The  fundamental  biological  factors  must  be 
kept  clearly  in  mind  throughout  the  entire  study 
of  values.  Equally  fundamental  are  the  psycho¬ 
logical  factors  which  deal  with  man’s  reactions 
to  his  entire  environment,  material  and  spiritual. 


148  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


Man  reacts  to  his  environment,  like  animals,  au¬ 
tomatically  and  instinctively ;  more  than  this,  he 
reacts  intelligently  and  volitionally,  and  here  is 
the  secret  of  his  advance  beyond  the  animal  stage 
of  development.  It  hardly  needs  to  be  demon¬ 
strated  that  the  Chinese,  in  respect  to  the  four 
general  psychic  processes — automatic,  instinc¬ 
tive,  intellectual,  and  volitional — are  not  essen¬ 
tially  different  from  other  races. 

The  biological  factors  are  essential  to  life ;  the 
psychological  factors  are  essential  to  progress 
and  progress  is  what  concerns  us  in  education 
and  religion.  It  is  evident  that  the  attitude  of 
the  Chinese  toward  some  of  these  biological  fac¬ 
tors  did  not  make  for  progress.  Their  failure  to 
develop  their  mineral  resources  is  due  chiefly  to 
the  mental  attitude  of  the  people ;  they  feared  the 
spirits  in  the  mountains  would  be  offended.  It 
is  evident  that  only  education  can  change  these 
mental  attitudes  and  reconstruct  better  ones. 
This  educative  process  of  reconstruction  is  going 
on  independently  of  Christian  education,  and  on 
an  increasingly  larger  scale  through  government 
education.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  recon¬ 
structed  mental  attitudes  will  lack  the  Christian 
element. 

Christian  education  must  reconstruct,  not 
simply  a  part  of  the  concept  structure,  but  the 
entire  structure ;  at  least,  it  must  work  with  this 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  149 


clearly  in  mind  if  it  hopes  for  a  cordial  reception 
and  the  right  use  of  what  it  brings  to  China. 

The  Chinese  are  aware  that,  like  other  nations, 
they  are  judged  and  ranked,  first,  by  their  mas¬ 
tery  of  the  forces  of  nature.  They  are  rapidly 
profiting  by  the  progress  that  other  nations  have 
made ;  they  do  not  have  the  chance  to  do  even  as 
much  original,  creative  work  as  have  the  Jap¬ 
anese  who  started  earlier  and  more  nearly  with 
the  rest  of  the  world  in  the  modern  mastery  of 
natural  forces.  What  will  be  the  nature  of  the 
psychic  factors  that  function  in  this  progress? 
They  must,  of  necessity,  be  different  from  any 
that  the  world  has  yet  seen  because  the  situation 
is  unique  in  the  history  of  the  race.  The  nearest 
parallel  is  in  the  history  of  Japan.  The  psychic 
processes  may  not  present  any  new  phenomena 
but  the  psychic  reactions  and  their  consequences 
must  present  a  new  complex.  This  new  mastery 
of  the  forces  of  nature  will  put  into  the  hands 
of  these  Chinese  the  power  to  realize  them¬ 
selves,  physically,  intellectually,  morally,  and 
religiously.  Christian  education  must  take  these 
facts  into  consideration  in  its  estimate  of  values. 

The  type  of  self-consciousness  which  has  pro¬ 
duced  the  Chinese  nation  is  a  second  fundamental 
psychological  factor.  It  is  necessary  to  discover 
the  type  which  has  produced  the  present  situa¬ 
tion;  it  will  be  the  task  of  Christian  education 


150  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


to  lift  the  Chinese  self-consciousness  to  a  higher 
level,  consonant  with  the  ideal  of  a  perfect  human 
society.  We  shall  discover  these  types  of  self- 
consciousness  in  the  number  and  nature  of  the 
interests  which  dominate  their  mental  activities, 
and  we  may  group  them  under  three  heads.71 

First,  the  interests  of  the  mass  of  the  people 
are  few  in  number  and  are  confined  chiefly  to  the 
physical  needs ;  securing  food,  clothing  and  shel¬ 
ter  and  providing  for  procreation,  are  the  main 
interests  about  which  they  talk,  and  for  which 
they  plan  and  work.  As  compared  with  the  lower 
races,  the  Chinese  live  in  a  greatly  modified 
physical  self-consciousness,  but,  with  hunger  so 
near,  the  physical  is  a  very  real  and  powerful  in¬ 
fluence  in  their  mental  processes.  However,  it  is 
seriously  to  be  questioned  if  they  are  any  more 
physio-centric  than  people  who  are  living  under 
similar  conditions  in  the  West. 

Secondly,  in  spite  of  these  physical  considera¬ 
tions,  the  mental  activities  of  the  Chinese  are 
probably  dominated  by  the  social  interests ;  con¬ 
siderations  of  social  rank  will  drive  a  scholar  to 
starvation  before  he  will  do  the  work  of  a  coolie. 
Individual  opinion  counts  for  little ;  manners  and 
customs  determine  nearly  all  their  activities. 
There  are  said  to  be  over  three  thousand  rules  of 
etiquette,  covering  every  social  situation,  and  one 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  151 


is  very  often  surprised  at  the  punctilious  observ¬ 
ance  of  these  rules  even  by  the  coolie  on  the  street. 
Of  course,  there  are  many  infractions  through 
ignorance  and  disregard.  The  social  values  have 
been  standardized  by  the  forms  of  government 
which  have  prevailed,  by  the  classical  education, 
and  by  their  religion.  There  is  no  caste  system 
but  the  social  stratification  is  very  apparent. 
Class-struggle  for  social  position  has  not  yet 
developed. 

A  third  type  of  self-consciousness  has  begun  to 
appear  with  the  establishment  of  the  republic. 
The  old  static  conditions  are  breaking  up.  New 
interests  and  new  activities  determine  their 
mental  processes.  The  style  of  dress  has  changed 
and  Western  styles  have  been  adopted  for  formal 
occasions.  The  younger  generation  is  in  rebel¬ 
lion  against  old  customs ;  the  new  woman  is  very 
evident.  A  new  social  idealism  is  questioning 
the  inviolability  of  the  authorities  which  prece¬ 
dent  and  practice  have  recognized ;  it  is  a  part  of 
the  revolution  by  which  China  lias  broken  with 
the  monarchical  idea  that  has  held  her  for  twenty- 
one  centuries.  There  is  a  growing  assertion  of 
individual  personality,  especially  among  stu¬ 
dents.  This  new  spirit  made  it  possible  for  large 
numbers  of  the  Chinese  laborers  to  go  abroad  and 
help  in  the  munition  factories  of  the  Allies. 


152  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


Many  students  are  going  abroad  for  travel  and 
study.  They  are  awakening  to  new  intellectual, 
moral,  and  religious  interests. 

Judging  from  their  literature  and  religious 
customs,  there  has  long  been  that  Reeling  after 
God  if  haply  they  may  find  Him”  which  Paul  de¬ 
scribed  in  his  address  at  Athens.  Although  they 
have  been  proud  and  provincial,  they  have  not 
been  without  an  international  outlook.  Had  they 
received  different  treatment  from  the  Christian 
nations  four  hundred  years  ago,  their  proverbs, 
“All  beneath  the  heavens  are  one  family”  and 
“All  within  the  four  seas  are  brothers,”  would 
doubtless  have  greater  significance  than  they  now 
have.  While  they  have  not  expressed  their  altru¬ 
istic  instincts  in  just  the  forms  of  philanthropy 
that  have  been  developed  by  Western  peoples, 
they  have  had  a  distinct  consideration  for  others 
and  a  valuation  of  self  in  terms  of  social  rela¬ 
tions,  which  are  essential  factors  in  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  altruistic  instincts.  For  instance: 
“The  man  of  perfect  virtue,  wishing  to  be  estab¬ 
lished  himself,  seeks  also  to  establish  others; 
wishing  to  be  acknowledged  [or  enlarged]  him¬ 
self,  he  seeks  to  acknowledge  [or  enlarge]  others 
also.”  72 

We  regard  the  growth  of  justice  as  a  phase  of 
social  psychology.  The  reference  just  quoted 
shows  a  clear  recognition  of  the  principle :  “Offer 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  153 


first  to  friends  what  one  requires  of  them,” 73 
and  a  number  of  other  passages  might  be  cited 
to  show  their  high  ideals.  Their  practice  and 
ideals  differ  widely,  but  Western  nations  need  a 
deal  of  “housecleaning”  before  they  criticize 
China  too  severely  on  this  score.  Elementary 
social  rights  are  quite  generally  recognized  in 
theory,  if  not  in  practice. 

China  has  developed  to  this  point  largely 
through  mental  activities  which  have  centered  in 
the  vital  physical  and  social  interests.  Her  fu¬ 
ture  progress  will  be  determined  by  the  number 
and  nature  of  these  new  international  and  cos¬ 
mic  interests.  Christian  education  finds  here  the 
basis  of  common  psychic  needs  and  the  measure 
of  its  own  values. 

It  is  necessary  to  analyze  the  forces  behind  this 
mental  activity  and  its  upward  progress.  They 
are  identical  with  the  forces  that  have  worked 
out  the  progress  of  the  Western  nations;  they 
bring  us  back  again  to  a  recognition  of  the  com¬ 
mon  interests  and  needs  of  the  human  race. 

These  forces  may  be  grouped  under  three  heads 
which  are  pertinent  to  our  present  considera¬ 
tions.  First,  the  divine,  creative,  cosmic  intelli¬ 
gence,  God,  which  is  steadily  working  out  and 
developing  the  human  means  of  His  own  self- 
revelation.  Second,  the  racial  intelligence  which 
is  man’s  unconscious  co-operation  with  God  in 


154  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


working  out  the  progress  of  the  race.  Third,  the 
personal,  volitional,  self-conscious  intelligence  of 
individuals.  These  intelligent  forces  explain 
why  man,  though  like  the  animal  in  his  automatic 
and  instinctive  reactions  to  his  environment, 
differs  from  the  animal  so  greatly  in  his  mastery 
of  the  forces  of  nature. 

“The  human  race  is  just  at  the  beginning  of 
racial  self-consciousness,”  and  we  must  recog¬ 
nize  that  there  has  been  a  Divine  Intelligence, 
at  least,  working  in  China  in  preparation  for  this 
new  period  of  racial  development.  We  mistake 
the  Chinese  type  of  self-consciousness  and  Chi¬ 
nese  intelligence,  if  we  think  China  needs  to 
cover,  step  by  step,  the  zigzag  path  of  Western 
progress. 

The  biological  elements  represent  the  physical 
needs  and  have  a  spiritual  significance ;  the 
psychological  elements  represent  the  spiritual 
needs  and  have  deep  physical  significance.  The 
two  cannot  be  separated  and  together  they  cover 
the  whole  range  of  human  needs  and  human  de¬ 
velopment.  In  them  we  find  the  explanation  of 
the  past  and  present  and  the  hope  for  the  future 
in  the  task  of  the  social  reconstruction  of  China. 

The  physio-centric  and  the  soeio-centric  levels 
of  racial  self-consciousness  were  essential  to  the 
development  of  the  wider  cosmic  viewpoint ; 
China  had  the  Confucian  type ;  the  West  has  had 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  155 

a  nominally  Christian  type  of  these  levels  of  self- 
consciousness.  It  is  the  “fullness  of  time”  for 
Christ  to  come  to  both  East  and  West  with  the 
true  world-consciousness.  The  World  War  and 
its  after-effects  make  one  dare  to  think  that  the 
Eastern  mind  is  as  nearly  ready  for  the  larger 
viewpoint  as  is  the  West. 

In  these  common  physical  and  spiritual  needs 
of  the  human  race,  are  the  basal  factors  through 
which  Christian  education  must  work  out  the 
desired  values  of  the  ideal  human  society.  The 
educational  ideal  which  accomplishes  this  task, 
is,  in  reality,  a  bio-psychological  ideal. 


CHAPTER  IX 


THE  NEEDS — ECONOMIC 

It  is  necessary  now  to  consider  more  carefully 
the  complex  physical  and  spiritual  needs  which 
grow  out  of  the  biological  and  psychological  fac¬ 
tors.  It  is  impossible  to  separate  these  further 
considerations  from  the  fundamental  processes 
just  discussed. 

The  social  phenomena  and  their  results  are  so 
complex  in  China  that  classification  is  difficult. 
The  analysis  is  simplified  if  it  is  based  on  the  in¬ 
stinctive,  individual  needs  that  are  common  to  all 
members  of  society.  The  satisfaction  of  these 
needs  is  secured  best  by  group  action  and  co-op¬ 
eration  between  groups. 

All  sociological  phenomena,  from  blind  action  of  the 
mob  up  to  the  most  intelligent  co-operative  institutional 
activity  of  highly  civilized  man,  constitute  forms  of 
action  by  means  of  which  the  needs  of  the  group  are 
satisfied.  If,  therefore,  we  classify  social  action  and 
social  products  according  to  the  ends  served,  we  shall 
have  a  classification  that  is  fundamentally  the  same 
for  all  grades  of  civilization  and  for  permanent  groups 
of  all  sizes.74 


156 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  157 


We  shall  study  Chinese  life  on  a  basis  that 
lends  itself  to  constant  and  fair  comparison  with 
conditions  in  Western  civilizations. 

These  needs  will  be  discussed  briefly  in  the 
following  chapters  as  economic,  protective,  recre¬ 
ative,  social,  cultural,  moral,  religious,  and  edu¬ 
cational.  It  is  impossible  to  discuss  any  one  of 
them  fully  in  a  single  chapter,  but  it  is  possible, 
and  is  our  purpose,  to  draw  attention  to  some 
conditions  which  involve  vital  human  needs  and 
which  constitute  crises  that  our  present  Christian 
education  fails  to  meet  or  deal  with  adequately. 
A  broad  and  comprehensive  view  is  needed. 

Professor  Kirkpatrick  defines  the  economic 
needs  and  activities  as  those  which  are  concerned, 
primarily,  with  securing  food  and  gaining 
protection  against  climatic  changes,  and,  sec¬ 
ondarily,  with  the  production  and  distribution 
of  material  things  that  serve  these  and  other 
purposes. 

The  material  of  this  study  is  grouped  under 
three  heads :  Production,  Distribution,  and  Con¬ 
sumption.  It  will  be  remembered  that  a  specimen 
curriculum  which  grouped  subject  matter  under 
these  same  heads  has  already  been  presented.  It 
will  be  necessary  for  our  purpose  to  consider  not 
only  the  material  objects  and  efficiency  in  their 
production,  but  also  the  producers  and  their  rela¬ 
tion  to  these  three  economic  processes. 


158  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


PRODUCTION 

China  has  many  of  the  economic  characteristics 
of  the  mediaeval  period  but  really  belongs,  eco¬ 
nomically,  to  the  transition  period  in  the  West, 
which  extends  from  the  fifteenth  to  the  nine¬ 
teenth  centuries.  She  is  rapidly  developing  the 
characteristics  of  industrialism  in  the  West  as  it 
existed  during  the  last  century.  From  the  stand¬ 
point  of  economic  and  industrial  development 
China  is  just  entering  the  stage  of  modern  pro¬ 
duction;  the  modern  phases  of  distribution  and 
consumption  are  not  so  far  advanced. 

Much  has  been  written  to  show  that  China  has 
abundant  raw  material  for  the  production  of 
wealth.  She  has  developed  only  her  agricultural 
resources  to  the  point  where  they  really  produce 
wealth.  It  seems  that  already  the  “law  of  dimin¬ 
ishing  returns”  has  become  operative  in  agricul¬ 
ture.  It  will  be  necessary  to  find  a  use  for  lands 
that  are  now  fallow  and  thought  to  be  worked 
out.  Analysis  of  the  soil,  seed  selection,  im¬ 
proved  implements,  more  scientific  irrigation  and 
conservation  of  water  supplies,  utilization  of 
other  than  human  power  in  agricultural  proc¬ 
esses,  will  largely  increase  the  wealth-producing 
capacity  of  the  Yangtze  Valley,  although  it  is 
already  one  of  the  richest  and  most  populous  dis¬ 
tricts.  At  first,  with  so  much  man  power  avail- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  159 


able,  the  introduction  of  improved  and  expensive 
machinery  may  be  expected  to  progress  slowly. 
As  the  process  of  modern  industrialization  ad¬ 
vances,  it  is  probable  that  the  man  power  will 
flow  to  the  industrial  centers  and  produce  a 
shortage  of  workers  in  the  agricultural  districts, 
with  the  probable  result  that  many  of  the  smaller 
fields  will  be  joined  and  labor-saving  machinery 
will  be  introduced.  This  change  will  not  be  pos¬ 
sible  in  all  parts  of  China,  however.  It  will  neces¬ 
sarily  increase  the  production  and  may  tend  to 
hold  in  check  prices  of  agricultural  products 
which  have  been  steadily  rising  for  fifteen  years. 
The  rising  cost  of  agricultural  products  may  be 
expected  to  stimulate  agricultural  development, 
as  it  did  in  England. 

The  agricultural  conditions  in  England  in  the 
beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  present  some 
very  suggestive  analogies  for  the  present  agri¬ 
cultural  conditions  in  China.75  The  small  hold¬ 
ings,  the  irregularity  and  movability  of  boun¬ 
daries,  the  hindrances  to  improved  methods  in 
farming  and  stock  raising,  numerous  footpaths 
and  balks,  little  or  no  live  stock,  common  graz¬ 
ing  ground  for  such  as  there  is,  all  issued  in  the 
appearance  of  “capitalistic  farming.” 

The  increase  in  the  price  of  foodstuffs  made  agricul¬ 
ture,  and  especially  improved  cultivation,  immensely 
profitable.  .  .  .  The  enormous  growth  of  manufactur- 


160  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

ing  consequent  upon  the  utilization  of  machinery 
created  a  sudden  demand  for  agricultural  prod¬ 
ucts.  ...  It  was  the  large  landowner  who  appreci¬ 
ated  the  value  of  inclosures,  and  who  took  the  lead 
in  securing  the  redistribution  of  land,  frequently  “with 
little  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  smaller  tenants  and 
freeholders,  who,  in  fact,  suffered  greatly/’  Even  if 
the  re-allotment  were  just,  the  parliamentary  and  legal 
expenses  involved,  .  .  .  placed  a  severe  handicap  upon 
the  small  farmers  and  yeomen  which  finally  led  to  their 
extinction. 

In  forty-five  years,  the  inclosed  acreage  in¬ 
creased  from  334,794  to  7,000,000. 

Is  it  possible  that  any  one  can  think  of  these 
things  and  not  see  their  tremendous  significance 
to  Christian  education?  There  will  be  re-allot¬ 
ment  of  land  divisions.  Lands  that  are  held  by 
large  owners  today  and  rented  to  poorer  people 
will  be  taken  up  by  the  owners  and  farmed  by 
more  economical  and  productive  methods;  the 
poor  renters  will  become  laborers,  either  on  the 
farms  or  in  the  factories.  It  is  the  duty  of  Chris¬ 
tian  education  to  train  humanity-loving,  public- 
spirited  men  to  study  these  conditions  and  pro¬ 
vide  opportunities  for  those  who  are  cast  out  of 
their  living  by  the  inevitable  industrial  change. 
The  students  of  today  will  be  masters  of  this  land 
as  the  change  comes;  they  may  be  prepared  in 
mind  and  heart  to  deal  with  this  situation  intelli¬ 
gently  and  humanely,  instead  of  ignorantly  and 
brutally  as  did  the  fortunate  classes  in  England. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  161 


One  cannot  study  the  economic  development  of 
England  without  deep  resentment  at  the  way  in 
which  one  privileged  class  after  another  tramped 
roughshod  over  the  less  fortunate  masses.  Is 
there  any  relation  between  what  people  are 
taught  to  think,  and  what  they  do?  If  there  is 
none,  then  what  is  the  use  of  education?  If 
there  is,  what  kind  of  educational  ideals  domi¬ 
nated  those  times?  The  Puritans,  with  all  their 
piety,  do  not  escape  the  charges  of  inhumanity.76 
How  much  more  is  Christian  education  in  China 
doing  to  prepare  the  Chinese  actually  to  meet 
these  conditions  wisely  and  sympathetically,  in 
the  real  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ?  Its  answer  to 
this  question  determines  its  value,  far  more  than  * 
does  the  ability  to  reproduce  Western  educational 
standards. 

The  mineral  resources  are  practically  undevel¬ 
oped,  for  reasons  already  given.  Production  will 
increase  greatly  in  this  field,  and  will  affect  the 
mining  and  the  manufacturing  activities.  Min¬ 
ing  must  change  from  the  digging  of  little  pockets 
in  the  mountainside  where  veins  of  coal  and  ore 
crop  out,  to  deep  underground  workings,  with 
power-machinery.  The  vast  coal  deposits  which 
make  it  possible  to  count  seven  veins  of  pure  coal 
cropping  out  in  a  500-foot  ledge,  together  with 
-  the  rich  iron  deposits  which  are  equally  well 
known  to  exist,  are  significant  only  in  the  light 


162  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

of  the  history  of  the  industrial  development  of 
the  West.  The  resources  are  significant,  however, 
for  this  study,  not  simply  in  the  wealth  that  they 
will  bring  to  China,  but  in  the  bio-psychological 
changes  with  their  moral  and  religious  implica¬ 
tions  which  they  will  produce. 

The  industrial  change  that  will  put  these  agri¬ 
cultural  and  mineral  products  into  usable  form 
is  already  in  progress.  Only  a  few  of  the  facts 
concerning  this  important  process  can  be  given 
here. 

There  are  a  few  plants  for  reduction  and  fin¬ 
ishing  treatment  of  iron,  copper,  antimony,  and 
tin.  These  are  wholly  inadequate,  either  to  treat 
effectively  the  ore  masses  or  to  meet  the  demand 
of  the  consumers.  The  cost  of  the  finished  prod¬ 
uct  is  very  low  when  compared  with  the  cost  in 
the  West.  Steel  rails  can  be  produced  for  $10.00 
a  ton,  as  compared  with  $47.00  in  England,  and 
$20.00  a  ton  in  Germany* 

The  effective  harnessing  of  abundant  natural 
power  is  an  important  element  in  the  productive 
process.  In  the  streets  one  hears  the  whir  of 
modern  machinery  run  by  steam,  electricity,  or 
gasoline;  in  the  same  block  the  slow  thump  of 
manufacturing  devices  operated  by  human  power 
may  also  be  heard.  The  modern  power  spindles 
and  looms  turning  the  raw  cotton,  silk,  and  hemp 
into  cloth  are  to  be  found,  almost  side  by  side, 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  1 63 


with  the  old  bamboo  man-power  looms.  In  1920, 
17  new  cotton  mills  were  started;  they  turn  out 
cotton  goods  at  25  per  cent,  of  the  cost  in  Fall 
Kiver  and  Manchester. 

China’s  water  power  and  oil  fields  are  great  un¬ 
tapped  sources  of  productive  energy.  There  is 
so  much  available  man  power  that  machines  and 
even  the  donkey  are  unsuccessful  competitors.  A 
few  decades  will  reverse  the  situation.  What 
mental  and  moral  readjustments  will  this  change 
bring? 

Very  little  time  has  been  spent  in  the  making 
of  tools.  The  farmer  uses  a  simple  hoe  or  forked 
hook  and  a  crooked  tree  root  with  a  cast-iron  nose 
for  cultivating  the  soil.  His  most  complicated 
farming  implement  is  the  device  for  lifting  water 
from  the  small  reservoirs  into  the  rice  fields.  He 
harvests  his  grain  with  a  sickle  and  threshes  it 
by  beating  the  heads  into  a  box,  or  with  a  flail,  or 
by  rolling  stones  dragged  over  the  threshing-floor 
by  a  cow  or  buffalo.  The  blacksmith  depends  en¬ 
tirely  on  his  hammer  and  anvil.  The  carpenter’s 
best  saw  looks  like  a  bucksaw ;  he  rips  his  large 
timbers  into  planks  by  hand.  The  painter  rubs 
on  his  paint  with  an  old  rag.  Rough  lathes  for 
wood-turning  are  seen  occasionally.  Weaving 
is  done  on  hand  looms  made  of  bamboo ;  the  cloth 
is  dyed  in  small  vats  and  finished  or  polished  by 
large  rocking  stones  which  are  manipulated  by 


164  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


men  standing  on  them  and  rocking  them  back  and 
forth.  Sometimes  one  sees  a  crude  cotton  gin, 
but  the  seeds  are  generally  extracted  by  hand. 
This  all  seems  very  primitive  but,  in  many  re¬ 
spects,  it  is  not  a  hundred  years  behind  the  indus¬ 
trial  development  of  the  United  States.  It  is 
even  nearer  to  the  peasant  farmer  of  Europe. 
The  English  farmers  will  not  believe  that  Iowa 
farmers  have  a  machine  for  raking  and  loading 
hay,  all  with  a  single  forward  movement  of  the 
team. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  these  implements  are 
tools,  not  machines.  Some  of  them  require  a 
great  deal  of  skill  and  intelligence,  of  a  certain 
kind,  to  use  them.  These  tools  are  rapidly  being 
exchanged  for  machinery,  most  of  which  requires 
little  skill  or  intelligence  except  on  the  part  of 
those  who  keep  it  in  order.  The  West  has  come 
to  this  through  a  slow  creative  process;  China 
is  plunged  into  it,  with  little  demand  on  her  own 
inventiveness.  The  results  will  be  apparent  much 
more  quickly ;  society  will  have  less  time  to  learn 
its  lessons  and  adjust  itself. 

Christian  education  is  dealing  indirectly  and 
aimlessly  with  these  conditions,  as  it  did  in  the 
West?  Is  that  all  it  can  or  should  do? 

Efficiency  is  an  essential  element  in  produc¬ 
tion,  yet  it  is  said  “the  Chinese  have  never  ac¬ 
cepted  the  principle  of  efficiency,  which  is  that 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  165 


the  methods  or  means  to  be  chosen  for  a  given 
purpose  should  not  be  those  which  seem  appropri¬ 
ate,  but  those  which  actually  do  produce  most 
surely,  promptly,  and  economically  the  coveted 
results.  They  fail  to  discriminate  real  from  ap¬ 
parent  fitness  because  they  have  never  made  the 
efficiency  of  agents  and  processes  an  object  of 
inquiry.”  77 

Related  to  this  principle  of  efficiency  is  the 
consideration  of  the  cost  of  this  kind  of  labor. 
Professor  Ross  cites  a  concrete  case  in  the  pro¬ 
duction  of  bridge  material  which  shows  that,  with 
labor  five  times  as  cheap,  the  Chinese  government 
could  not  produce  the  material  and  construct  a 
bridge  as  cheaply  as  Belgian  contractors  could  do 
it,  and  import  their  workmen.  This  means  that, 
in  productiveness,  one  Belgian  is  equal  to  five 
unskilled  Chinese;  this  comparison  would  vary 
from  three  to  even  more  than  five.  That  skilled 
Chinese  labor,  however,  may  be  as  efficient  as  any 
other  labor  is  becoming  very  evident. 

In  the  West,  “it  was  formerly  thought  profit¬ 
able  to  the  manufacturer  to  employ  men  for  as 
small  wages  as  possible  and  for  the  greatest 
number  of  hours,  and  to  assume  no  responsibility 
whatever  for  their  health  or  freedom  from  acci¬ 
dents.”  This  is  practically  where  China  is  today. 
There  are  some  happy  exceptions,  in  the  case  of 
a  few  humane  and  enlightened  operators,  but 


166  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


competition  with  those  who  are  not  so  humane, 
prevents  them  from  doing  much  to  relieve  the 
conditions  of  the  workers.  In  Shanghai,  the  op¬ 
eratives  are  mostly  women  and  children:  they 
work  in  the  mills  from  twelve  to  fourteen  hours, 
for  from  ten  to  thirty  cents  a  day. 

In  a  coal  mine  near  Ichang  the  coolie  receives  one 
cent  for  carrying  a  400-lb.  load  of  coal  on  his  back 
down  to  the  river  a  mile  and  a  half  away.  He  averages 
ten  loads  a  day  but  must  rest  every  other  week.  The 
miners  get  seven  cents  a  day  and  a  cent’s  worth  of 
rice  and  meal.  They  work  eleven  hours  a  day  up  to 
their  knees  in  water,  and  all  have  swollen  legs.78 

Can  a  system  of  education  lay  claim  to  the 
name  Christian  and  ignore  such  inhumanity  and 
such  social  economic  waste?  It  can  because 
it  has. 

Ought  it  to  do  so?  Christian  education  has  a 
wonderful  opportunity  to  consider  these  condi¬ 
tions  and  press  home  the  problems  in  practical 
form,  to  open-minded,  patriotic,  young  Chinese 
men  and  women.  Many  of  these  young  people  are 
Christians,  or  at  least  favorably  disposed  toward 
Christianity.  The  abstract  moral  principles  of 
Christian  education  are  good,  as  far  as  they  go; 
religious  education  in  America  is  realizing  that 
they  do  not  go  far  enough  with  the  young.  Re¬ 
form  agitation  will  help  some;  it  will  be  vastly 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  167 

better  to  do  the  more  fundamental  educational 
work  which  will  prevent  the  development  of  such 
industrial  conditions  as  we  have  been  trying  to 
cure  in  the  West. 

There  is  also  a  large  unproductive  class  which 
decreases  the  wealth  of  the  country  and  deprives 
some  of  the  producers  of  advantages,  to  which 
they  are  justly  entitled.  Although  the  Chinese 
are  an  industrious  people,  there  are  many  idlers. 
It  is  estimated  that  there  are  ten  million  depend¬ 
ents  in  America,  or  ten  per  cent,  of  our  popula¬ 
tion.  In  China  the  percentage  is  considerably 
higher.  Children  are  more  numerous;  public 
beggars  are  more  numerous ;  disease,  mental  and 
physical  defect,  and  economic  inefficiency  swell 
the  numbers.  Here,  again,  is  a  source  of  eco¬ 
nomic  leakage  which  affects  seriously  the  living 
conditions  of  the  whole  nation. 

What  is  Christian  education  doing  to  stop  this 
leakage?  There  are  a  few  industrial  schools  that 
are  trying  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  young 
people;  there  are  some  efforts  to  deal  with  these 
social  problems;  medical  missions  are  trying  to 
relieve  the  weight  of  disease  and  physical  defect. 
These  efforts  are  good,  but  inadequate.  It  is 
necessary  to  go  to  the  source  of  the  trouble  and 
give  the  students  who  go  out  from  our  schools  an 
attitude  of  mind  that  will  make  them  feel  re* 


168  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


sponsible  for  dealing  with  these  conditions. 
They  must  be  specially  prepared  to  deal  intelli¬ 
gently  with  the  causes  as  well  as  with  the  effects. 
To  what  extent  does  the  classical  ideal  in  educa¬ 
tion  do  this? 

The  Chinese  will  adapt  themselves  to  these 
new  demands  of  production  as  readily  as  have 
Western  people — perhaps  more  readily  and 
successfully. 

The  Chinese  have  a  great  lesson  to  learn  from  Ameri¬ 
can  industrial  workmen  in  continuing  uninterruptedly 
at  their  work  during  hours  of  industry,  in  speed,  and 
in  eliminating  all  loss  in  movements.  But  even  on 
these  points  the  Hanyang  iron  workers  are  approaching 
Pittsburg  workmen.79 

They  have  been  essentially  a  sensory-motor  peo¬ 
ple  ;  they  have  lived  close  to  nature ;  their  motor 
centers  are  more  highly  developed,  possibly,  than 
those  of  the  modern  educated  Western  individual. 
This  constitutes  a  foundation  for  the  reception 
and  application  of  new  tools  and  machinery  that 
might  not  be  suspected  apart  from  the  psychology 
and  physiology  of  the  people.  Little  study  has 
been  made  along  this  line,  but,  there  is  consider¬ 
able  warrant  for  the  statement  in  the  example 
of  the  Japanese.  They  have  made  wonderful 
progress  in  the  use  and  even  in  the  improvement 
of  Western  ideas  and  tools.  If  China  fails  to 
adapt'  herself  to  the  new  methods  of  production, 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  169 


it  will  be  the  fault  of  education,  not  of  heredity 
and  native  ability. 

After  a  fine  tribute  to  the  Chinese  adaptabil¬ 
ity,  Bishop  Bashford  says : 

With  such  manifestation  of  adaptability,  combined 
with  cheerfulness.  Western  nations  must  reckon  with 
the  Chinese  in  determining  what  nation,  what  race,  and 
what  civilization  will  become  dominant  in  the  Pacific 
basin. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  it  will  not  be  a  question 
of  dominance,  but  a  question 'of 'largest  contribu¬ 
tion  to  the  future  civilization  of  the  Pacific  basin. 

With  the  production  of  modern  machinery, 
there  will  come  the  economic  waste  of  thousands 
who  have  lost  their  old  employment  and  are  un¬ 
able  to  adapt  themselves  to  the  new,  but  there 
will  be  ultimate  gain  because  the  common  social 
needs  will  be  more  easily  supplied  and  the 
amount  of  human  energy  expended  for  this  end 
will  be  decreased.  This  latter  will  be  a  distinct 
aid  in  the  general  education  of  the  masses,  if  they 
are  trained  to  make  right  and  intelligent  use  of 
this  additional  time. 

The  introduction  of  machinery  and  use  of  natu¬ 
ral  power  will  shift  women  from  the  drudgery  of 
the  field  to  the  drudgery  of  the  factory;  the 
effect  on  the  home  may  well  give  concern  to  Chris¬ 
tian  educators.  What  could  be  of  greater  value 
in  Christian  education  than  to  face  these  facts 


170  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

and  probabilities  in  our  Christian  schools,  and 
work  them  out  in  the  hopefulness,  altruism  and 
idealism  of  Trouth? 

DISTRIBUTION 

Distribution  is  the  second  main  factor  in  a 
study  of  the  economic  needs.  Increased  produc¬ 
tion  calls  for  improved  methods  of  distribution; 
improved  methods  of  distribution  will  release 
from  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent,  of  the  population  for 
increased  production.80  The  two  chief  factors  in 
the  improvement  of  distribution  are,  first,  the 
means  of  transportation,  and  second,  the  distrib¬ 
utors  and  their  methods  of  exchange. 

What  will  happen  to  the  majority  of  the  ten 
or  fifteen  per  cent,  who  will  be  affected  by  the 
change  now  in  progress?  It  is  one  thing  to  re¬ 
lease  them  for  production;  it  is  quite  another 
thing  to  change  their  whole  life  and  thought  so 
that  they  will  become  producers.  It  is  an  eco¬ 
nomic  situation  based  on  important  biological 
and  psychological  considerations;  its  relation  to 
education,  morals,  and  religion  is  direct  and  not 
to  be  ignored.  One  illustration  may  be  given 
here. 

Between  1861  and  1900  the  immense  junk  traffic 
of  China  was  largely  displaced  by  steamboat  traffic 
along  the  coasts  and  upon  the  large  rivers.  The  throw¬ 
ing  of  an  immense  number  of  boatmen  out  of  employ- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  171 


ment,  with  no  provision  for  their  livelihood,  has  been 
one  of  the  great  economic  causes  of  the  Chinese  distrust 
of  foreigners,  just  as  sudden  destruction  of  junk,  cart, 
and  wheelbarrow  traffic  by  the  opening  of  the  Pekin- 
Tientsin  Railway  was  the  economic  occasion  for  the 
Boxer  Uprising,  though  by  no  means  the  only  reason 
for  that  struggle.81 

Is  there  any  remedy  for  this  sorry  situation? 
Must  Christian  education  leave  China  to. stumble 
through  the  riots,  destruction  of  life  and  prop¬ 
erty,  and  all  the  misery  of  Western  industrial 
evolution?  Or  has  it  now  sufficient  flexibility 
and  resourcefulness  to  enable  it  to  deal  more 
helpfully  and  constructively  with  China’s  needs? 

There  is  wealth  of  material  for  college  and 
theological  seminary  curricula  in  the  considera¬ 
tions  involved  in  the  following  quotation  : 

But  while  recognizing  the  imperative  need  of  the 
introduction  of  steam  and  electricity  for  transportation, 
those  who  propose  such  improvements  should  bear  in 
mind  the  danger  of  turning  some  ten  to  fifteen  per  cent 
of  the  laboring  class  suddenly  out  of  employment  with¬ 
out  first  providing  other  methods  by  which  these  people 
can  earn  a  living.  .  .  .  Arrangements  should  be  made 
for  the  employment  of  surplus  labor  in  mining  coal 
and  in  other  industries  immediately  on  the  completion 
of  the  roads.  .  .  .  Surely  statesmanship  and  a  wise 
regard  for  permanent  returns  on  investments,  as  well 
as  humanitarian  considerations,  demand  that  the 
change  in  transportation  in  China  should  be  inaugu¬ 
rated  in  a  manner  which  will  serve  the  immediate 
interests  of  the  working  classes,  as  well  as  the  financial 


172  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


interests  of  managers  of  corporations,  and  thus  promote 
the  interests  of  the  nation  as  a  whole.82 

The  writer  might  have  said,  “and  thus  promote 
the  interests  of  human  society  as  a  whole.”  This 
one  situation  involves  economic  possibilities  for 
good  and  for  evil  that  far  outweigh  any  national 
considerations  of  China  or  Western  nations. 

Bishop  Basliford'S  suggestion  for  solution  is 
simple,  direct,  and  appears  adequate.  But  how 
is  it  to  be  effected?  In  the  context,  he  seems  to 
offer  no  direction.  Does  any  one  expect  a  mys¬ 
terious  atmosphere  of  moral  righteousness  and 
Christian  insight  to  envelop  these  statesmen  and 
business  men  and  effect  these  desired  results? 
The  evidence  that  such  a  miracle  will  happen  is 
pitifully  lacking,  in  the  face  of  unhumanitarian 
aspects  of  Western  industrialism  and  commer¬ 
cialism.  Old  dogs  do  not  easily  learn  new  tricks. 

'the  minds  of  the  young  men  who  will  be  the 
statesmen  and  business  men  can  be  led  to  face  the 
facts  and  reach  moral  decisions,  before  they  get 
caught  in  the  grip  of  this  relentless  industrial 
force;  they  have  ideals  to  which  appeals  can  be 
made.  What  would  be  more  intensely  interest¬ 
ing  for  college  students  than  the  chance  to  think 
about  and  discuss  such  problems?  A  group  of 
young  college  men  might  reach  a  better  solution 
than  that  suggested  by  our  distinguished  author, 
good  as  that  is.  How  many  Christian  schools  can 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  173 


relate  such  things  effectively  to  their  course  of 
study?  How  many  can  stop  the  eternal  grind  of 
textbooks,  acquisition  of  a  mass  of  facts,  prepara¬ 
tion  for  examinations,  long  enough  to  think  of 
these  vital  living  conditions?  Where  is  our  sense 
for  values? 

Official  grafting  has  discouraged  progress  in 
railroad  and  other  road  building;  individual  or 
small  group  interests  have  outweighed  the  inter¬ 
ests  of  the  whole  community  and  made  it  possible 
for  men  to  say,  as  did  the  head  of  an  American 
railroad  corporation  when  asked  about  the  rela¬ 
tion  of  the  interest  and  welfare  of  the  public  to 
a  certain  project,  “The  public  be  damned.”  Is 
Christian  education  really  as  helpless  to  prevent 
such  an  anti-social  mental  attitude  as  it  seems  to 
have  been  in  the  West?  How  much  did  the  school 
curriculum  of  forty  years  ago  teach  that  railroad 
president  about  the  needs  of  human  society  and 
his  obligations  to  relieve  those  needs?  Religion 
and  morals  were  excluded  from  the  public  school 
curriculum ;  the  churches  and  a  few  homes  taught 
general  moral  truths  but  did  not  relate  them  to 
the  larger  social  issues.  Is  that  the  best  Chris¬ 
tian  education  can  do  for  China?  How  much 
change  has  there  been  in  the  social  emphasis  in 
our  curricula? 

The  China  Year  Book  (1914) ,  reporting  on  the 
banking  situation  says,  “These  banks  are  legion.” 


174  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


There  are  banking  facilities ;  the  people  distrust 
them  and  have  reason  for  so  doing;  there  have 
been  Morses  and  Lorimers  in  China.  The  more 
complex  system  of  banking  and  credits  into 
which  China  must  certainly  pass  will  multiply 
the  opportunities  for  graft  and  dishonesty.  The 
old  simple  devices  which  have  existed  for  insur¬ 
ing  the  integrity  of  bank  officers  will  soon  be  in¬ 
effective.  Then  what? 

Cannot  Christian  education  prepare  the  minds 
of  the  young  men  who  are  going  out  into  the 
banking  business,  give  them  a  vision  of  the  tre¬ 
mendous  social  significance  of  their  profession, 
give  them  high  ideals  of  honesty  and  general  in¬ 
tegrity  in  their  direct  bearing  on  these  problems? 
It  is  not  enough  to  teach  the  abstract  moral  truth, 
“Thou  shalt  not  steal. ”  It  is  hardly  to  be  sup¬ 
posed  that  Morse  and  Loidmer  had  never  received 
this  teaching  yet  they  did  not  hesitate  to  rob 
widows  and  orphans  of  their  living,  and  they  are 
only  two  out  of  many  who  have  done  and  are 
doing  the  same  thing  in  Christian  America.  They 
were  taught  morals  and  religion  as  morals  and 
religion;  they  learned  life  in  a  different  school. 
They  probably  had  very  little  help  in  linking 
these  together  so  that  they  could  see  the  immedi¬ 
ate  social  significance  of  morals  and  religion. 

In  the  practical  business  reliability  of  the  Chi¬ 
nese,  there  are  points  of  contact  with  the  ideals 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  17 5 


of  Jesus  that  will  be  more  effective  for  teaching 
purposes  than  golden  examples  from  the  West, 
like  George  Washington  who  “never  (?)  told  a 
lie.”  The  discussions  following  Lord  Curzon’s  83 
strictures  on  Asiatic  honesty  and  his  boast  of 
Western  honesty,  make  any  fair-minded  man  a 
little  less  dogmatic  in  setting  forth  the  West  as 
a  paragon  of  honesty,  integrity,  and  fair  dealing. 
Cannot  the  people  be  prepared  to  deal  wisely  and 
justly  with  those  who  violate  their  social  obliga¬ 
tions  in  the  use  of  large  sums  of  money  or  large 
credits?  Or,  must  they  learn  only  by  bitter  ex¬ 
perience,  so  that  while  they  are  catching  and  pun¬ 
ishing  the  rascals  on  one  trick  these  same  indi¬ 
viduals  are  busy  thinking  out  some  new  scheme  of 
exploitation?  Christian  education  can  help  stop 
this  kind  of  thing  if  it  will  take  the  opportunity. 

The  Chinese  have  discovered  the  economy  of 
standardization  of  production ;  silk  from  certain 
sections  has  a  definite,  well-known  value;  like¬ 
wise,  oil,  tea,  pottery,  etc.  This  standardization 
saves  much  of  the  cost  of  advertising  for  which 
the  Western  consumer  pays  so  dearly.  Eight  ad¬ 
vertising  will  be  necessary  and  educative.  New 
and  better  products  must  be  made  known. 

There  are,  however,  already  enough  fraudulent 
medicine,  food,  drink,  and  tobacco  advertisements 
appearing  on  the  streets  and  in  the  papers  to  keep 
a  college  laboratory  busy  for  several  weeks  in 


176  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


analytical  chemistry.  What  could  be  more  inter¬ 
esting  and  of  more  practical  value?  Those  stu¬ 
dents  would  go  back  to  their  villages  prepared 
to  defend  themselves  and  their  community 
against  such  parasites,  who  have  in  some  cases, 
already  made  fortunes  out  of  the  ignorance  of 
Western  people.  Some  are  native  frauds;  some 
are  foreign.  When  is  there  a  better  time  for  the 
related  moral  and  religious  teaching  than  when 
the  interest  is  keen?  How  many  teachers  are 
availing  themselves  of  such  splendid  subject 
matter? 

Pure,  unadulterated  ignorance  of  the  people, 
not  their  moral  viciousness,  has  made  possible,  in 
the  West,  this  whole  wretched  business  of  fraudu¬ 
lent  advertising  and  patent  medicines,  from 
which  we  are  only  now  struggling,  with  doubtful 
success,  to  extricate  ourselves.  The  agent,  the 
traveling  salesman,  and  the  billboard  will  be 
necessary  evils  in  the  distribution  of  China’s  new 
industrial  products.  It  would  be  a  great  saving 
to  the  world  and  China  if  she  could  learn  at  the 
beginning  what  Western  advertisers  have  learned 
but  slowly — that  honest  advertising  is  the  best 
policy;  that  fair  business  methods  are  the  most 
profitable  in  the  end  because  they  serve  common 
human  needs ;  that  it  does  not  pay  to  sell  a  cus¬ 
tomer  something  he  does  not  want. 

This  phase  of  the  task  and  the  value  of  Chris- 


"NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  177 


tian  education  is  not  clearly  and  generally  recog¬ 
nized.  These  details  of  business  ethics  could  and 
should  be  intelligently  presented  in  moral  and 
religious  education,  and  the  economic  principles 
should  be  laid  bare  in  the  schools.  They  should 
not  be  presented  from  textbooks  alone,  but  from 
the  every-day  experience  of  Chinese  life.  When 
this  is  done,  there  will  be  plenty  of  need  for  the 
cultural  subject  matter  if  it  has  the  spiritual 
value  that  is  claimed  for  it.  There  will  have  to 
be  a  more  careful  sifting  for  those  real  spiritual 
values  than  has  hitherto  been  necessary. 

The  first  step  in  industrial  development  of  the 
West  was  marked  by  the  idea  that  a  man’s  busi¬ 
ness  was  his  own,  to  run  as  he  pleased  regardless 
of  the  community  interest  and  welfare.  It  is  tak¬ 
ing  the  public  a  long  time  to  believe  that  it  has 
a  right  to  know  how  general  business  is  being  con¬ 
ducted.  The  school  can  determine  the  mental  at¬ 
titude  of  the  rising  generation  whether  it  shall 
be  ultra-individual  or  social.  Little  can  be  done 
with  the  old  men,  but  young  men  should  be  led 
to  face.such  problems  from  the  moral  standpoint, 
and  to  reach  a  conclusion  of  their  own  as  to 
what  ought  to  be  done  under  these  circumstances. 
It  is  not  here  claimed  that  all  will  do  the  right 
thing  in  this  generation,  but  such  young  men  will 
have  a  distinct  advantage  over  the  men  of  this 
generation  in  America.  Our  Americans  were 


178  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


grounded  simply  in  the  ethics  of  the  Puritan  pe¬ 
riod  of  development  and  had  not  the  imagination, 
nor  the  help,  needed  to  enable  them  to  see  what  is 
honesty  and  righteousness  under  the  changed  eco¬ 
nomic  and  social  conditions.  China  should  profit 
by  our  experience. 

CONSUMPTION 

The  problems  of  economic  consumption  are 
still  comparatively  unformulated ;  the  life  is  sim¬ 
ple  and  localities  are  almost  self-supporting. 
There  are  few  comforts  and  fewer  luxuries  in  the 
homes  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  When  the  re¬ 
markable  change  of  living  conditions  that  has 
come  in  the  United  States  within  fifty  years,  is 
taken  into  consideration,  it  is  reasonable  to  ex¬ 
pect  a  similar  change  in  the  nature  and  quantity 
of  articles  consumed  in  China.  The  homes  of 
wealthy  Chinese  in  the  port  cities  are  prophecies 
of  future  tendencies  that  will  be  much  more  gen¬ 
eral.  Shall  selfish  commercialism  be  left  to  de¬ 
termine  what  these  articles  shall  be,  to  exploit 
human  ignorance  and  weakness  for  private  gain? 
Shall  Christian  education  be  simply  negative  and 
prohibitive,  or  shall  it  recognize  the  whole  range 
of  human  needs,  throw  the  light  of  truth  on  these 
wretched  practices,  and  cultivate  selective  sense 
and  moral  judgment  in  the  consumptive  process? 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  179 


Surely  Christian  education  can  do  more  than 
say,  “You  must  not  do  this,”  “You  must  not  do 
that.”  It  is  time  for  the  church  and  the  school 
to  teach  men  and  women  what  can  be  done  and 
how  to  do  it  so  that  men  may  have  “more  abun¬ 
dant  life,”  instead  of  reducing  this  life  to  its  very 
lowest  terms  and  leaving  man  to  his  own  devices 
in  supplying  the  neglected  requirements  of  God- 
given,  natural  instincts.  The  Chinese  have  al¬ 
ready  done  fairly  well  with  the  prohibitive  edu¬ 
cational  work  themselves;  they  seem,  long  ago, 
to  have  won  their  light  in  the  prohibition  of  alco¬ 
holic  liquors,  and  they  have  fought  a  splendidly 
successful  fight  with  opium  under  the  greatest 
difficulties.  Jesus  comes  that  they  may  have  life, 
and  that  they  may  have  it  more  abundantly  in 
the  reconstruction  of  their  social  conditions. 

Christian  education,  in  this  field,  must  train  in 
receptive  and  selective  judgments.  The  Chinese 
need  to  learn  to  seek  and  to  use  these  new  produc¬ 
tions,  native  and  foreign,  that  will  make  more 
abundant  the  life  of  communities  and  of  indi¬ 
viduals.  Christianity  has  particular  obligation 
in  the  selection,  because  of  the  bewildering  mix¬ 
ture  of  good  and  evil  productions  that  are  com¬ 
ing  to  China  from  nominally  Christian  countries ; 
and  because  the  bad,  as  it  is  increasingly  elim¬ 
inated  from  consumption  in  the  West  through  in¬ 
creased  popular  knowledge  of  its  consequences, 


180  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


turns  to  prey  on  the  East  where  the  people  are 
still  in  ignorance  of  these  consequences. 

In  their  private  consumption  of  wealth,  the 
Chinese  are  like  the  majority  of  people,  both  wise 
and  foolish.  Many  generations  of  frugality  have 
woven  into  their  etiquette  the  teaching  that  it  is 
very  bad  manners  to  spill  grains  of  rice  around 
one’s  bowl  while  eating,  or  to  use  salt  wastefully ; 
back  of  the  etiquette  is  the  economic  law  of  self¬ 
protection.  Not  so  wise  is  the  expenditure  of 
comparatively  large  sums  of  money  in  the  burn¬ 
ing  of  incense,  paper  money,  feasts  to  the  idols 
and  funeral  offerings.  These  practices  teach  the 
people  to  rely  on  useless  and  unscientific  means 
for  securing  better  crops,  better  children,  wealth, 
and  happiness,  instead  of  setting  to  work  in  an 
intelligent  manner  and  in  conscious  co-operation 
with  God,  to  obtain  these  things  which  are  essen¬ 
tial  to  the  abundant  life.  There  is  little  of  the 
vulgar  display  of  wealth  that  characterizes  cer¬ 
tain  well-recognized  classes  in  the  West.  But 
out  of  this  industrial  revolution,  there  will  come 
the  Chinese  “new  rich”  who  will  build  outlandish 
houses  and  fill  them  with  furniture  and  decora¬ 
tions  that  represent  neither  intelligence  nor  good 
taste,  and  flaunt  individual  opulence  in  the  face 
of  community  need. 

Is  it  not  possible  to  teach  young  men  and 
women  who  are  to  be  the  consumers  of  this  new 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  181 


wealth  to  scorn  this  vulgar  wastefulness  of  a  com¬ 
mon  human  inheritance?  The  idea  of  a  common 
human  inheritance  probably  bulks  more  largely 
in  the  Chinese  mind  as  a  result  of  long  centuries 
of  close  social  contacts,  than  it  has  ever  done  in 
the  Western  mind,  and  constitutes  a  splendid 
point  of  contact  for  the  social  principles  of  Jesus. 

The  question  of  public  expenditures  is  already 
a  vexed  problem  in  China ;  perhaps,  to  be  fair,  one 
should  add,  and  it  long  has  been.  The  method  of 
collecting  the  taxes  for  local,  provincial,  and  na¬ 
tional  expenditures  has  carried  with  it  many 
abuses,  oppression,  graft,  false  records,  waste  of 
funds.  It  is  always  to  be  remembered  that  the 
public  affairs  of  the  republic  of  the  United  States 
are  not  yet  free  from  these  evils.  Not  only  are 
there  these  evils  to  eliminate,  but  it  will  be  neces¬ 
sary  to  teach  the  people  the  value  of  this  means 
of  satisfying,  co-operatively,  their  common  needs. 
Professor  Ely,  describing  Western  conditions, 
states  thus  the  situation  in  China : 

An  older  view  than  that  which  prevails  at  the  present 
time  looked  upon  public  expenditures  as  not  merely 
something  unproductive,  but  as  something  extraneous 
to  the  economical  life  of  the  people.  .  .  .We  now 
look  upon  the  federal  government,  state  and  city  as 
agencies  through  which  we  co-operate  for  the  accom¬ 
plishment  of  common  purposes.  These  purposes  are 
directly  industrial  in  character,  or  they  have  industrial 
consequences.84 


182  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


The  “law  of  increasing  public  expenditure” 
bears  directly  on  this  problem  of  public  consump¬ 
tion,  shows  in  outline  the  task  of  education,  and 
raises  the  question  as  to  the  relative  responsibil¬ 
ity  of  Christian  education. 

Comparisons  between  different  countries  and  different 
periods  show  regularly  among  progressive  nations  an 
extension  of  public  activities.  This  manifests  itself 
extensively  and  intensively.  The  state  and  its  sub¬ 
ordinate  political  units  continually  undertake  new  func¬ 
tions,  and  they  perform  their  duties,  old  and  new, 
better  and  better.  In  this  way,  that  is,  through  public 
agency,  the  needs  of  the  population  to  an  increasing 
extent,  especially  their  common  needs,  are  satisfied; 
and  the  public  services  for  the  satisfaction  of  needs 
continually  improve  in  quality.85 

The  attitude  of  the  people  toward  public  ex¬ 
penditure  is  a  part  of  the  whole  question  of  social 
reconstruction.  If  China  is  to  make  progress  the 
people  must  be  given  a  right  understanding  of 
this  co-operative  method  of  achieving  the  common 
good.  In  view  of  the  way  their  money  has  been 
appropriated  for  private  use  by  grafting  officials, 
or  wasted  in  improperly  constructed  dikes  and 
such  other  public  works  as  they  have  undertaken, 
the  Chinese  can  hardly  be  expected  to  see  easily 
the  economic  value  to  themselves,  even  in  prop¬ 
erly  regulated  public  expenditures. 

The  historical  order  in  which  the  various  ob¬ 
jects  of  public  expenditure  have  appeared  are: 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  183 

(1)  External  security;  (2)  security  within  the 
community;  (3)  promotion  of  material  interests ; 
(4)  benevolence;  (5)  education  in  its  various 
phases;  (6)  labor.  This  outlines,  in  a  very  gen¬ 
eral  way,  the  range  of  moral  and  intellectual 
problems  that  are  involved  in  this  field  of  China’s 
economic  development.  In  this  time  of  interna¬ 
tional  conferences  and  of  belief  that  a  perma¬ 
nent  world  peace  will  be  established,  it  would 
seem  that  the  first  item  should  be  placed  last  in 
the  list  in  China.  “The  modern  nation  has  been 
spending  an  increasing  proportion  of  its  re¬ 
sources  for  education.  .  .  .  Expenditures  which 
are  distinctively  for  the  promotion  of  labor  are 
comparatively  recent.”  86  We  must  note  also  the 
increased  expenditures  of  Departments  of  Agri¬ 
culture  and  Interior  and  their  value  to  the  pub¬ 
lic,  as  in  the  case  of  forestry,  food  adulteration, 
botany,  seed  tests,  pomology,  entomology,  soils, 
irrigation,  drainage,  roads,  etc. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  frequently  in  the  West, 
that  the  more  these  objects  are  brought  under 
public  control,  the  better  the  service  and  the 
cheaper  the  cost.  There  are  those  who  deny  this, 
but  the  growth  of  this  idea  in  popularity  within 
the  last  twenty  years  is  very  significant  of  its 
probable  correctness^.  China  already  has  a  good 
start  in  this  direction  in  the  government  control 
of  railroads  and  telegraph.  Large  business  en- 


184  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


terprises  are  not  often  undertaken  individually; 
the  Chinese  do  things  through  the  government 
partly  from  financial  necessity  and  partly,  it 
seems,  from  social  experience. 

These  problems  must  be  worked  out  by  men 
and  methods  that  command  the  confidence  of  the 
people  who  are  called  on  to  produce  the  wealth. 
The  wisdom,  the  unselfishness,  the  lack  of  par¬ 
tisanship,  the  clear  vision  of  what  is  for  the  pub¬ 
lic  good,  that  are  so  much  needed,  all  depend  on 
the  character  of  the  education  and  the  nature 
of  the  moral  and  religious  training  which  the 
leaders  and  the  people  have  received.  Is  there 
any  value  in  the  Christian  churches  and  schools 
beyond  reiterating  abstract  moral,  religious,  and 
philosophical  truths,  many  of  which  truths  are 
already  imbedded  in  China’s  literature  and 
ideals?  Certainly  there  are  other  values,  but  it 
is  to  be  questioned  seriously  if  our  present  ideals 
and  methods  are  releasing  these  values  in  China. 

THE  BASIS  OF  ADJUSTMENT 

Professor  Ely  traces  the  historical  develop¬ 
ment  of  Western  industrial  evolution  through  the 
three  stages  of  Competition,  Concentration,  and 
Integration.  Here  seems  to  lie  the  crux  of 
China’s  adjustment  to  the  industrial  change,  at 
the  beginning  of  which  she  now  stands ;  her  choice 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  185 

will  determine  whether  social  evolution  or  social 
revolution  is  in  store  for  her.  It  must  not  be 
forgotten  that  what  comes  to  China  in  the  future 
will  be  of  greater  importance  to  the  Western  na¬ 
tions,  probably,  than  all  the  events  of  her  past 
history. 

There  is  not  space  to  enter  into  a  full  discus¬ 
sion  of  the  significance  of  competition  in  the  de¬ 
velopment  of  the  human  race  though  it  is  very 
pertinent  to  the  present  consideration,  and  China 
will,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  feel  the  effects 
of  competition.  The  principle  has  worked  in  biol- 
ogy,  psychology,  and  in  economics.  There  are 
those  who  believe  that  the  very  processes  of 
competition  psychologically  lead  to  the  cultiva¬ 
tion  of  altruism  as  well  as  egoism.  There  are 
others  who  believe  that  altruism  and  egoism  are 
primary  instincts  and  that  the  normal  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  latter  is  essential  to  that  of  the  for¬ 
mer.  Competition  is  a  necessary  economic  dy¬ 
namic,  doubtless,  that  raises  some  men  to  their 
highest  degree  of  individual  efficiency.  It  in¬ 
volves  a  certain  amount  of  dependence,  but  noth¬ 
ing  of  conscious  interdependence;  it  may  be  a 
necessary  forerunner  of  the  conscious  co-opera¬ 
tion  which  is  becoming  steadily  more  apparent  in 
various  phases  of  society.  Granting  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  competition  in  certain  stages  of  the  devel¬ 
opment  of  human  society,  there  are  still  two  pos- 


186  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


sibilities  open  for  consideration  which  have  im¬ 
portant  bearing  on  conditions  in  China. 

Granted  that  “competition  is  the  foundation  of 
our  present  social  order/’  is  that  any  scientific 
ground  for  believing  that  it  is  always  to  remain 
the  foundation  of  social  order?  To  believe  that 
competition  is  the  only  foundation  for  our  future 
social  structure,  binds  us  by  the  static  philos¬ 
ophy  of  the  preceding  century,  makes  the  con¬ 
ception  of  an  ideal  society  on  earth  a  mere  dream, 
and  turns  repetition  of  the  Lord’s  Prayer  into 
hollow  mockery. 

Secondly,  is  there  any  reason  for  final  decision 
that  the  Chinese  have  not  passed  through  this 
necessary  biological  process  in  a  degree  that  has 
prepared  them  for  entrance  with  the  Western 
nations  into  a  larger,  truer,  co-operative  social 
order?  “Perhaps  the  one  fact  in  the  evolution  of 
society  that  becomes  clearer  and  clearer  as  time 
passes  is  that  co-operation  is  the  great  law  of 
social  life  growth.”  87  State  the  question  posi¬ 
tively  :  Is  it  not  highly  probable  that  the  social 
ideals  of  China  will  adapt  themselves  more  easily 
to  larger  international  co-operation  of  a  world- 
society  than  will  the  individualistic  ideals  of  the 
West? 

Which  is  China  to  have,  competition  or  co-op¬ 
eration?  Has  China  derived  nothing  from  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  187 


long  centuries  of  social  solidarity  and  the  accu¬ 
mulated  influences  of  a  unified  race  heredity? 
No  other  independent  nation  with  such  a  heritage 
has  yet  passed  through  this  transition.  Japan 
approximates  but  does  not  duplicate  this  phe¬ 
nomenon  of  social  evolution.  It  must  be  ad¬ 
mitted  that  the  United  States,  in  its  social  and 
economic  development,  has  new  and  unique  fac¬ 
tors  that  give  the  impression  of  crudeness ; 
neither  Europe  nor  America  has  ever  had  the 
same  degree  of  homogeneity  and  continuity. 
Does  all  this  count  for  nothing  to  China  in  this 
new  and  trying  stage  of  political  and  economic 
growth?  Must  China  follow  meekly  after  the 
learned  young  nations  of  the  West?  Has  China 
nothing  to  teach  the  West  in  exchange  for  what 
all,  herself  included,  agree  she  must  receive  from 
the  West?  It  seems  possible  to  open  the  question 
for  frank  consideration,  even  if  it  be  impossible 
to  answer  it  with  finality  here. 

On  the  other  hand,  if  competition  must  pre¬ 
vail  and  become  the  foundation  of  the  further 
development  of  China  to  the  same  plane  as  the 
Western  nations,  then  it  must  be  regulated  so  as 
to  secure  a  maximum  of  benefit  and  a  minimum 
of  evil  consequences.  Its  moral  level  must  be 
raised.  To  do  this  we  must  see  those  evil  con¬ 
sequences  clearly,  face  them  courageously,  and 


188  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


undertake  the  task  of  regulation,  with  faith  that 
we  can  really  do  something  more  than  has  been 
done  in  the  West. 

The  momentous  changes  resulting  from  the  industrial 
evolution  have  come  about  without  the  anticipation  or 
express  will  of  society;  we  could  not  (in  the  West) 
turn  back  to  former  conditions  if  we  would;  all  that 
we  can  do  is  to  attempt  to  control  and  take  advantage 
of  these  new  forces.88 

If  this  be  true,  we  cannot  say  that  we  have 
made  a  remarkable  success  of  regulating  competi¬ 
tion  in  the  West.  In  China,  we  can  learn  some¬ 
thing  from  these  past  experiences,  if  we  are  will¬ 
ing  to  learn  and  not  to  dogmatize  on  the  assump¬ 
tion  that  all  is  as  it  should  have  been  in  the  West 
and  that  China  must  travel  the  same  road.  If 
Western  racial  superiority  is  befuddling  our  ef¬ 
forts  to  reach  an  honest  judgment  as  to  what 
China  really  needs,  and  what  the  West  has  to 
give,  let  us  remember  the  actual  evils  of  compe¬ 
tition  in  spite  of  Christianity,  education  and  all 
our  conscious  efforts  to  regulate  it;  the  tremen¬ 
dous  and  needless  sacrifice  of  human  life  to  un¬ 
sanitary  and  dangerous  working  conditions ; 
woman  and  child  labor  in  mines  and  factories; 
sweatshops;  food  adulterations;  unemployment; 
strikes  and  boycotts,  with  destruction  of  life  and 
property ;  monopolies  of  food  stuffs  by  individu- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  189 


als,  and  these  do  not  complete  the  list  of  fruits 
of  the  competitive  system. 

China  will  have  nearly  all  of  the  results  and 
probably  add  some  of  her  own.  China’s  future 
leads  along  the  line  of  her  economic  development; 
she  will  emphasize  competition  or  co-operation. 
She  faces  the  age-long  and  universal  social  prob¬ 
lem,  the  adjustment  of  the  relations  between  so¬ 
ciety  and  the  individual,  so  as  to  give  freedom  for 
the  highest  development  of  the  individual  and 
the  greatest  common  welfare  of  society.  Is  China 
ready  to  follow  the  call  to  fuller  co-operation  in 
all  the  social  complex,  as  the  West  seems  just 
now  to  be  hearing  that  call  ?  If  she  is  not,  what 
is  Christian  education  actually  doing  to  pre¬ 
pare  her  to  follow  that  call  ? 

CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE  ADJUSTMENT 

The  answer  from  the  elementary  and  middle 
schools  may  be  discussed  with  a  few  quotations 
from  the  special  report  to  which  reference  has 
previously  been  made.  “The  curricula,  in  gen¬ 
eral,  are  based  on  subject  matter  rather  than  on 
actual  need.”  “The  curriculum  should  be  reor¬ 
ganized  on  the  basis  of  social  service  rather  than 
the  mastery  of  subjects,”  which  indicates  that  the 
social  emphasis  is  not,  at  present,  predominant, 
to  say  the  least.  “More  time  might  well  be  spent 
in  furnishing  perspective  and  insight  into  the  life 


190  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

problems  for  which  education  is  needed.”  “More 
stress  should  be  laid  on  courses  preparing  for 
vocational  life,  such  as  commercial  courses,  ele¬ 
mentary  economics  and  business  ethics ;  on 
courses  preparing  for  community  life,  such  as 
good  citizenship,  philanthropy,  social  service  and 
practice  in  social  co-operation.”  The  reported 
need  reveals  what  these  schools  are  actually  do¬ 
ing  in  dealing  with  the  problems  discussed  in  this 
chapter. 

Nearly  all  of  the  colleges  and  universities  un¬ 
der  Christian  control  offer  courses  in  economics 
and  sociology,  but  they  are  a  part  of  a  very  heav¬ 
ily  loaded  curriculum  and  are,  probably,  taught 
chiefly  from  textbooks,  with  about  as  much  prac¬ 
tical  value  and  appreciation  of  perspective  and 
relative  values  as  they  are  in  the  West.  Most 
men  cannot  look  back  at  their  college  courses  in 
these  subjects  and  speak  enthusiastically  and 
sincerely  of  their  great  value,  except  where  they 
have  sat  under  an  exceptional  teacher  who  broke 
with  the  limitations  of  the  textbook  and  the  ex¬ 
aminations.  There  are  some  teachers  in  China 
who  do  this;  more  are  needed.  What  per  cent, 
have  this  freedom  and  relate  this  valuable  ma¬ 
terial  directly  to  the  live  problems  in  China 
waits  to  be  revealed  by  the  commission  of  edu¬ 
cational  experts  to  investigate  and  report  on 
higher  education  in  China  as  did  the  commission 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  191 


on  the  middle  schools.  The  recent  publication 
of  this  report  should  help  greatly  in  estimating 
the  real  values  of  Christian  education  in  China. 

Probably  the  first  comprehensive  report  on  the 
manual  and  industrial  phases  of  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  in  China  is  quoted  to  show  existing  condi¬ 
tions.  It  covers  all  the  larger  Protestant  mis¬ 
sions  and  some  of  the  smaller  ones ;  a  few  centers 
did  not  reply,  which  is  pretty  good  evidence  that 
they  have  nothing  to  report: 

Fully  two-fifths  of  the  missions  have  no  signs  what¬ 
ever  of  manual  and  industrial  education;  of  the  re¬ 
maining  three-fifths,  two-fifths  carry  on  such  work  in 
only  the  simplest  forms,  such  as  sewing.  In  approxi¬ 
mately  one-fifth  of  the  missions  there  is  at  least  one 
institution,  and  very  often  only  one,  where  fairly  earnest 
efforts  are  being  put  forth  in  this  direction.  A  few  re¬ 
plies  indicated  that  there  is  not  much  zeal  for  such 
undertakings  in  their  midst,  but  with  these  one  or  two 
exceptions,  there  seems  to  be  a  profound  conviction  that 
whether  we  are  engaged  in  such  undertakings  or  not, 
we  are  missing  a  rare  opportunity  in  not  developing 
these  lines  of  work. 

The  motive  in  the  operation  of  these  schools  is 
significant.  “Self  help  for  poor  boys  is  the  pri¬ 
mary  motive  in  establishing  what  a  great  many 
call  ‘self-help  departments.7  77  This  is  philan¬ 
thropic  but  will  almost  inevitably  result  in  an 
individualistic,  non-social  perspective  in  the  stu¬ 
dents  unless  it  is  given  a  turn  to  community  wel- 


192  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


fare  like  road-making,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Pingtu 
Christian  institute.89  Some  appreciate  the  in¬ 
trinsic  educational  value  of  learning  a  trade. 
Some — it  is  not  said  how  many — get  the  real 
value  clearly  in  mind: 

A  widening  of  the  scope  of  the  school  curriculum, 
which  is  too  traditional  and  formal,  is  sought.  The 
Church  to  fulfill  its  function  must  train  not  only  for 
the  ministry,  medicine,  teaching,  etc.,  but  must  train 
boys  and  girls  to  go  back  to  the  farm  life  of  their  com¬ 
munity,  to  the  shops,  to  the  home ;  in  short  to-  the  com¬ 
mon  life  of  ninety-nine  out  of  every  hundred  persons, 
and  to  fertilize  the  common  life  and  task,  with  fresh 
knowledge  and  new  ideals. 

It  must  be  noted  that  those  who  do  not  have 
to  go  back  to  work  will  deal  sympathetically  with 
those  who  do,  only  as  they  understand,  from  per¬ 
sonal  experience,  something  of  the  difficulties  and 
limitations  of  the  other  group.  The  more  fortu¬ 
nate  class,  economically,  will  be  the  more  potent 
factor  in  determining  China’s  future  economic 
career.  Until  such  training  is  recognized  for  its 
full  educational,  social  and  economic  value  and 
desired  by  the  wealthy  students  as  such,  and 
given  as  such  by  Christian  educators,  it  will  be 
regarded  as  a  makeshift  to  help  poor  boys. 

Manual  training  is  vastly  more  than  such  a 
makeshift  and  would  be  practicable,  if  we  could 
break  the  bondage  of  traditional  subject  matter 
and  custom  in  teaching.  It  is  more  possible  than 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  193 

we  have  believed  even  with  the  Chinese  reverence 
for  the  scholar  who  does  not  have  to  work  with 
his  hands.  The  report  says,  and  it  is  a  splendid 
tribute  to  Chinese  democracy : 

In  no  instance,  does  any  one  report  that  boys  or 
girls  are  looked  down  upon  because  they  labor.  Many 
wealthier  pupils  apply  to  be  allowed  to  do  some  form 
of  manual  work,  which  appeals  to  any  normal  youth. 

It  is  not  fair  to  judge  the  attitude  of  the  Chi¬ 
nese  student  toward  work  by  his  attitude  to¬ 
ward  school  janitor  work,  the  report  assures  us. 
Some  have  reported  success  even  in  this  line.  The 
report  shows  what  Christian  education  is  doing, 
and  is  not  doing.  Furthermore,  it  has  shown  us 
that  there  are  indications  that  the  introduction 
of  manual  and  industrial  training  into  the  cur¬ 
riculum,  is  not  attended  with  insuperable  diffi¬ 
culties  and  has  some  really  encouraging  aspects. 

The  subject  matter  of  present  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  is  changing  the  economic  conditions;  it 
is  placing  tremendous  economic  advantages  in 
fhe  hands  of  a  few  individuals,  without  giving 
them  the  social  training  to  lead  them  to  use  these 
advantages  for  the  common  good  of  their  com¬ 
munities.  It  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  these 
economic  advantages  will  be  used  for  selfish  ends, 
with  the  same  disregard  for  the  welfare  of  so¬ 
ciety  that  has  characterized  the  West.  Nothing 
can  be  expected  from  a  system  of  education  that 


194*  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

brands  as  a  dolt  the  man  who  works  with  his 
hands  and  accredits  as  educated  the  man  who  can 
work  only  with  his  head.  It  is  not  simply  educa¬ 
tion  that  will  determine  the  good  and  the  evil 
in  China’s  industrial  evolution ;  the  kind  of  edu¬ 
cation  will  determine  whether  the  process  may  be 
called  evolution  or  revolution. 

It  is  not  a  pleasant  fact  to  face  but  it  seems 
to  be  true  that  the  present  methods  and  ideals 
of  Christian  education  on  the  mission  field  tend 
to  decrease  the  number  of  producers  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  to  increase  the  number  of  idlers  and  non¬ 
producers,  which  means  economic  waste  for  any 
nation;  this  does  not  assume  that  material  pro¬ 
ducers  are  the  only  producers.  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  does  not  purpose  any  such  consequences,  but 
it  has  not  investigated,  sufficiently,  the  results 
of  its  methods  and  processes.  It  has  “failed  to 
discriminate  real  and  apparent  fitness”  for  life ; 
its  estimate  of  values  has  been  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  the  individual  and  the  propagation  of 
the  Christian  religion  of  the  West. 

Can  we  not  frankly  face  some  facts?  What 
better  explanation  is  there  for  the  fact  that  many 
faithful  and  experienced  missionaries  question 
the  value  of  educational  work,  particularly  in 
India,  where  education  has  been  dominated  by 
the  classical  ideal?  These  men  have  good  rea¬ 
sons  for  their  criticisms  but  their  opposition  to 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  19 5 

education  puts  them  in  a  dilemma,  with  the 
present  loud  call  for  native  Christian  leaders. 
If  Christian  education  seeks  the  undivided  sup¬ 
port  of  the  missionary  body,  it  will  have  to  pro¬ 
duce  results  that  will  show  clearly  its  practical 
social  value. 

Is  this  not  one  cause  of  India’s  seething  social 
unrest?  The  prevailing  educational  ideal  has 
produced  a  large  class  of  young  men  who  are  not 
needed  in  the  present  social  structure,  so  they  are 
unemployed.  They  have  been  trained  for  clerical 
and  scholarly  positions  far  beyond  India’s  pres¬ 
ent  need  in  the  backward  state  of  her  economic 
production  and  distribution.  They  have  been 
educated  through  cultural  and  disciplinary 
studies  that  are  colored  by  Western  individual¬ 
ism,  until  they  are  unfitted,  temperamentally  and 
physiologically,  to  work  with  their  hands — the 
service  that  the  country  really  needs.  Their  re¬ 
flective  nervous  centers  have  long  been  developed 
at  the  expense  of  the  motor  centers,  and  Western 
education  has  continued  the  same  old  error  in 
a  different  form.  These  young  men  are  not 
achieving  in  life  what  they  had  hoped  for  and 
aspired  to,  and  they  have  not  been  trained  to 
see  their  social  obligation  in  the  perspective  of 
service;  their  restlessness  is  the  natural  result. 

The  same  thing  seems  to  have  happened  in 
Japan,  though  it  has  not  progressed  so  far  and 


196  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

the  situation  has  not  become  so  acute.  Other 
factors  may  prevent  it  from  becoming  so  serious ; 
the  J apanese  have  larger  liberty  in  choosing  and 
remedying  evils  as  they  appear.  Some  Japanese 
leaders  have  seen  that  their  high  schools,  which 
are  of  this  type,  are  producing  a  great  number 
of  “high-class  loafers”  and  drastic  measures  have 
been  suggested,  even  to  the  abolition  of  these 
schools.90  It  must  be  remembered  that  indus¬ 
trial  education,  without  its  social  implications, 
will  produce  much  the  same  social  condition  as 
the  classical  education  does,  except  that  the 
product  is  not  a  parasite. 

China  does  not  need  an  educational  ideal  or 
system  that  will  send  out  its  young  men  so  poorly 
equipped  for  life  that  they  can  find  no  place  to 
work  with  head  and  hand  alike  in  the  social  re¬ 
construction  of  their  country.  The  training  that 
is  given  the  head  should  be  a  training  that  does 
not  decrease  the  usefulness  of  the  hand.  Neither 
China  nor  Christian  missionary  societies  have 
money  to  wraste  in  turning  out  young  men  who 
are  so  unfitted  for  life  that  the  majority  of  lead¬ 
ers  in  industrial  development  prefer  an  intelli¬ 
gent,  honest,  uneducated  young  man  for  the 
nation’s  work,  whatever  may  be  the  case  in  the 
United  States.  We  have  said  nothing,  as  yet, 
about  the  moral  wreckage  of  the  system;  we 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  197 


have  considered  the  facts  with  the  emphasis  on 
the  economic  considerations. 

Economics  is  not  simply  a  matter  of  material 
things.91  Economic  conditions  produce  mental, 
moral  and  religious  reactions ;  and  mental,  moral 
and  religious  processes  determine  economic  con¬ 
ditions.  It  is  evident  that  these  two  facts  are 
inseparable  from  the  natural,  fundamental  in¬ 
stincts  of  human  life.  “To  modify  conduct  one 
touches  the  heart.  To  modify  judgments  on  con¬ 
duct  one  speaks  to  the  intellect.”  92  The  task  of 
Christian  education  comprehends  both ;  it  should 
prepare  in  mental  attitude  and  in  moral  judg¬ 
ment  and  conduct,  beforehand,  for  these  indus¬ 
trial  and  social  changes.  Murder  should  mean 
more  than  killing  a  man  in  cold  blood  with  one’s 
own  hand.  Robbery  should  mean  more  than  per¬ 
sonal  and  violent  acquisition  of  the  property  of 
another. 


CHAPTER  X 


THE  NEEDS — PROTECTIVE 

The  means  of  protection  that  have  been  fairly 
adequate  in  the  past,  like  everything  else,  are 
proving  inadequate  under  the  changing  condi¬ 
tions.  With  the  family  as  the  basis  of  social 
order,  the  chief  protective  functions  have  de¬ 
volved  upon  the  father;  all  the  members  have 
a  part  in  meeting  the  needs  of  protection  against 
the  elements,  in  providing  shelter,  food,  and  fuel. 
The  walled  cities,  local  police  and  watchmen 
illustrate  the  attempts  that  have  been  made  to 
meet  the  common  needs  for  protection  against 
the  anti-social  elements  in  Chinese  society. 
There  are  also  the  provincial  and  national  troops, 
intended  to  be  a  protection  against  foreign  ene¬ 
mies  and  large  insurrections;  they  are  almost 
as  often  a  source  of  danger  to  the  peaceful  people 
as  they  are  a  source  of  protection. 

These  common  means  of  protection  are  not 
based  on  scientific  principles;  their  fitness  is 
more  often  apparent  than  real,  and  to  a  West¬ 
erner,  there  is  not  always  even  apparent  fitness. 

The  customs  and  laws  are  supported  to  a  certain 

198 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  199 


extent  by  religion  and  superstition,  as  in  the 
performance  of  certain  ceremonies  for  the  an¬ 
cestors  to  prevent  disaster,  idol  processions  to 
protect  the  community  against  drought,  certain 
ceremonies  and  building  plans  to  protect  against 
evil  spirits,  the  pictures  by  the  doors  and  win¬ 
dows  to  frighten  away  the  evil  spirit  of  disease. 

The  principle  of  social  protection  has  been  em¬ 
bodied  in  the  Chinese  system  of  law  and  rests 
on  the  divine  right  of  the  ruler  and  the  father. 
There  is  much  to  be  said  in  praise  of  the  Chinese 
laws;  although  they  have  been  indifferent,  in  a 
measure,  to  the  rights  of  the  individual,  they 
have  been  social  in  bearing  and  application. 
This  neglect  of  the  individual  has  been  neutral¬ 
ized  by  the  protective  functions  of  the  family, 
local  and  guild  customs  and  regulations,  but 
these  are  now  breaking  down  under  the  new  in¬ 
dustrialism,  as  they  did  in  the  West.  Not  only 
will  these  old  institutions  lose  their  power  to 
protect  the  rights  of  the  individuals,  but  they 
will  lose  the  power  of  social  control  which  has 
been  so  effective  for  centuries,  in  spite  of  abuses 
and  limitations. 

These  facts  introduce  the  problem  of  the  pres¬ 
ent  protective  needs.  Something  larger  is  needed. 
The  first  factor  appears  in  the  change  from  a 
monarchical  form  of  government  to  a  democratic 
form.  Hitherto  the  laws  have  been  made  for  the 


200  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

people  by  a  governing  class,  ancl,  although  they 
have  been  administered  in  a  surprisingly  demo¬ 
cratic  manner,  the  advantage  has  been  with  the 
governing  class  in  the  application  of  these  laws. 
The  mass  of  people  had  nothing  to  say  about 
making  the  laws,  and  it  is  not  to  be  expected 
that  they  would  be  concerned  about  enforcing 
them;  the  result  was  family,  clan,  and  local  co¬ 
operation  in  subterfuge  and  frequent  violation. 
Under  the  new  regime,  the  masses  will  have  an 
increasingly  greater  voice  in  making  the  laws, 
as  with  the  trend  toward  democracy  in  the  West. 

A  second  factor  appears  in  the  change  from 
the  personal  to  the  impersonal  stage  in  industrial 
relations.  Economists  have  pointed  out,  fre¬ 
quently  and  effectively,  the  evils  which  attended 
that  stage  in  Western  industrial  evolution.  The 
complexity  of  the  problems  arising  out  of  this 
change  has  been  touched  upon  in  the  preceding 
chapter.  In  view  of  the  attitude  of  the  old  Chi¬ 
nese  law  toward  the  individual,  the  need  will 
be  even  greater  for  the  protection  of  the  indi¬ 
vidual  in  these  new  conditions,  than  it  has  been 
in  the  West  where  the  individual  was  recognized 
and  emphasized. 

The  solution  of  this  far-reaching  problem  will 
be  effected  mainly  through  the  law,  but  adequate 
laws  will  be  promulgated  and  observed  only 
through  effective  education  of  the  entire  people. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  201 


We  are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  question, 
“What  is  Christian  education  doing  with  the 
task  of  social  reconstruction  in  China  from  this 
angle?”  This  new  law  will  concern  itself  less 
with  protection  against  violence  and  more  with 
protection  against  interference  with  property, 
health,  and  comfort.  It  will  come  to  be 

a  social  discovery  or  invention  which  prescribes  and 
enforces  the  kind  of  action  that  is  most  favorable  to 
the  group  welfare.  A  successful  law  must  be  founded 
upon  scientific  knowledge  and  practical  experience  and 
must  be  adapted  to  the  people  and  to  the  conditions 
so  that  with  rare  exceptions  all  will  find  it  best  to 
obey  the  law  and  to  inflict  punishment  on  the  few 
who  disobey  it.93 

In  addition  to  the  industrial  problems  already 
mentioned,  some  other  related  problems  are  sug¬ 
gested  by  Professor  Kirkpatrick’s  study  of  con¬ 
ditions  in  the  West  as  falling  under  the  head 
of  protective  needs. 

The  treatment  of  criminals  calls  for  imme¬ 
diate  consideration.  The  spirit  of  liberty  is  man¬ 
ifesting  itself  in  all  phases  of  Chinese  life  and 
it  will  be  sure  to  be  abused  by  some  individuals 
and  groups.  The  proportion  of  criminals  to  the 
population  will  doubtless  increase  and  will  in¬ 
clude  some  who  would  not,  otherwise,  have  been 
found  in  the  criminal  class.  Juvenile  delin¬ 
quency  will  almost  certainly  increase,  and  the 


202  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

larger  freedom  of  women  will  introduce  a  new 
element. 

What  shall  be  done  with  such  cases?  Shall 
China  go  ahead  and  dump  them  all,  men,  women, 
and  children,  into  prisons  which  are  conducted 
so  that  they  are  schools  of  crime  and  vice  as 
has  been  so  generally  done  in  the  West?  Or 
shall  we  seek  better  protective  devices  for  China 
than  have  been  possible  in  the  West,  as  it  trav¬ 
eled  this  road  for  the  first  time,  with  no  prece¬ 
dent  to  guide?  We  shall  probably  find,  in  the 
old  ideals  of  administering  law  in  China,  a  spirit 
that  will  be  favorable  to  recent  Western  improve¬ 
ments  in  the  treatment  of  criminals,  as  “inde¬ 
terminate  sentences  and  shortened  terms  for  good 
behaviour,  provisions  for  remunerative  and  edu¬ 
cative  employment  while  in  prison,  and  parole 
and  reinstatement  in  society.” 

The  housing  problem  is  vital,  from  the  stand¬ 
point  of  protection  as  well  as  of  economic  con¬ 
siderations.  It  is  notoriously  neglected  in 
China;  large  families,  small  houses,  water  from 
stagnant  pools  and  canals,  filthy  cesspools  al¬ 
lowed  to  accumulate  for  fertilization  of  the  soil, 
etc.,  are  indications  of  present  needs.  There  is 
almost  no  protection  against  fire  in  the  cities, 
and  none  in  the  country  districts.  The  cities  are 
already  densely  populated,  but  the  industrial 
movement  gives  reason  to  believe  that  they  will 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  203 

grow  in  size  and  in  density  of  population.  Some 
one  needs  to  be  looking  ahead  to  these  conditions 
and  planning  for  them.  The  people  must  be  edu¬ 
cated  and  prepared  for  the  changes,  or  China  will 
be  swept  with  disease  epidemics  for  years  to 
come.  How  much  is  Christian  education  doing 
toward  this  preparation?  How  much  of  the 
wrork  in  the  classroom  bears  on  this  work  which 
must  be  done  by  the  students  of  today,  if  it  is 
to  be  done  in  time  to  count  for  much  econom¬ 
ically? 

Necessary  protection  of  the  weak  and  helpless 
will  require  a  great  deal  of  intelligence  and  good 
moral  judgment,  to  avoid  pauperization  and  other 
abuses  of  modern  philanthropy.  The  protection 
of  children,  which  has  only  recently  come  to  be 
of  importance  in  the  West,  will  be  more  neces¬ 
sary  in  China.  Parental  control,  in  its  old  form, 
will  almost  certainly  be  loosened;  the  parents 
will  need  to  be  taught  new  methods  of  training 
their  children.  The  new  industrialism,  as  in  the 
West,  will  tempt  parents  to  raise  large  families 
and  put  them  out  to  work  in  the  factories  and 
live  from  their  wages;  this  will  call  for  wise 
legislation  that  will  protect  child  labor,  regulate 
age,  hours  and  conditions  of  work,  and  provide 
for  adequate  education.  Care  of  defectives  will 
need  the  same  attention  it  is  beginning  to  re¬ 
ceive  in  the  West.  There  must  be  provision  for 


204  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


the  injured  and  for  those  who  are  dependent 
upon  them;  only  the  Chinese  who  know  the  life 
of  their  people  intimately,  can  do  this  wisely; 
only  those  who  approach  the  task  with  the  true 
Christian  viewpoint,  can  do  it  humanely  and 
effectively.  These  problems  will  come  in  China 
with  a  rush  that  has  not  characterized  their  ap¬ 
pearance  in  the  West.  The  most  effective  form 
of  protection  is  prevention,  and  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  should  be  very  effective  in  this  method. 

This  field  furnishes  a  rich  source  of  concrete 
teaching  material  with  both  immediate  and  fu¬ 
ture  interests,  closely  related  to  the  student’s 
apperceptive  knowledge  and  experience.  It  fur¬ 
nishes  another  instructive  test  of  the  value  of 
Christian  education. 


CHAPTER  XI 


THE  NEEDS — RECREATIONAL 

Recreation  is  a  fundamental  biological  and 
psychological  need.  It  depends  on  leisure  time 
and  surplus  energy  which  closely  relate  it  to 
economic  conditions.  In  reality,  it  is  a  protec¬ 
tive  measure  for  the  physical,  mental,  and  moral 
welfare  of  the  individual  and  for  society. 

Man  in  common  with  the  higher  animals  manifests 
the  instinct  of  play.  The  broadest  view  of  this  subject 
considers  as  playful  all  activities  beyond  those  necessary 
to  maintain  life.  Play  is  the  manifestation  and  the 
enjoyment  of  life  after  the  means  of  living  have  been 
obtained.93 

Recreation  is  instinctive  and  educative ;  it  ap¬ 
pears,  in  the  passive  form,  in  sleep,  rest,  change 
of  surroundings,  and  amusement  furnished  by 
others :  and,  in  the  active  form,  in  play,  athletic 
exercise  and  change  of  employment.  With 
adults,  play  is  recreative;  with  children,  play 
is  educative.  This  means  a  difference  in  aim  and 
result  between  adult  play  and  child  play;  child 
play  is  really  child  work.  These  two  facts  have 

particular  significance  for  the  study  of  recreative 

205 


206  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

needs  in  China  as  they  relate  to  Christian  edu¬ 
cation.  The  two  forms  of  play  are  found  to 
overlap  when  ah  analysis  is  undertaken;  adults 
enjoy  children’s  games  and  obtain  through  them 
needed  recreation;  children  who  are  obliged  to 
do  the  work  of  adults  need  the  recreation  that 
comes  from  play  and  amusement. 

The  human  race  seems  to  have  learned  the 
importance  of  work  largely  by  the  hard  expe¬ 
rience  of  slavery  and  serfdom,  and  it  forgot,  tem¬ 
porarily  and  of  necessity,  much  of  its  earlier 
playfulness  as  it  appears  in  the  negro.  Only  re¬ 
cently,  is  it  seeking  to  regain  that  lost  inheri¬ 
tance.  The  instinct  for  play  has  persisted  in 
child  life,  but  has  been  ignored  or  repressed. 
Only  within  the  last  twenty  years,  have  any 
considerable  number  of  men  realized  its  educa¬ 
tive  value.  Adults  have  long  had  their  amuse¬ 
ments  and  recreations,  but  we  are  only  just  be¬ 
ginning  to  recognize  constructive  and  moral 
values  in  these  play-activities.  Recreation,  in 
its  various  forms,  has  values  which  meet  the 
physical,  mental,  and  moral  instinctive  needs  of 
the  race.  So  great  are  these  needs  that,  in  the 
West,  it  is  estimated  that  “one-fourth  of  all  eco¬ 
nomic  activity  has  for  its  end  the  entertainment 
of  the  people.”  Christian  education  in  China 
cannot  longer  neglect  this  tremendous  force  for 
progress  or  retardation. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  207 


Many  minds  in  many  centuries  have  misunderstood 
or  denied  the  importance  of  play  and  looked  upon  it 
as  a  more  or  less  permissible  sin,  rather  than  as  a 
natural,  right,  and  beautiful  expression  of  the  human 
spirit.  .  .  .  Whatever  one  does  for  pure  love  of  it, 
that  is  play.  It  is  more  instinctive  than  work  and 
not  a  whit  less  important.  .  .  .  Play  is  for  childhood 
the  shining  gate  that  opens  wide  to  life,  to  sociability, 
endurance,  co-operation,  natural  growth  and  subor¬ 
dination  of  one’s  own  desires  to  common  ends.  It 
leads  out  the  youthful  spirit  through  mysterious  in¬ 
stinctive  regions  where  no  formal  education  can  be  its 
guide,  and  may  indeed  light  up  the  meaning  of  gov¬ 
ernment,  and  the  moral  order.  For  maturity,  the 
shining  gate  swings  backward,  restoring  joyous  mem¬ 
ories  and  the  early  freshness  of  boyhood’s  mornings, 
recreating  the  body  and  soul,  warding  off  nervous  ex¬ 
haustion,  maintaining  balance  and  proportion  in  life, 
making  work  tolerable  for  the  oppressed,  and  releasing 
the  worker  to  increased  efficiency.  It  is  well  to  believe 
in  play,  for  morality  and  play  grow  up  together  like 
joyous  children,  when  play  is  spontaneous,  unbought 
and  clean.”  94 

The  Chinese  have  learned  well  the  lessons  of 
industry.  Their  educational  ideals  and  social 
customs  have  tended  to  repress  the  play  instinct 
in  children,  consequently  in  adults.  The  classi¬ 
cal  ideal  has  fostered  the  notion  that  the  child 
is  a  miniature  adult.  They  wonder  that  the 
Westerner  does  not  hire  some  one  to  perspire 
on  the  tennis  court  in  his  stead.  The  moderate 
slow-moving  East,  with  its  freedom  from  worry, 
probably  does  not  yet  need  the  recreation  so 


208  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

much  as  does  the  West,  with  its  high-pressure 
conditions,  but  these  conditions  are  coming  to 
China  in  the  not  distant  future,  if  the  Western 
industrialism  repeats  itself  there.  The  mass  of 
the  people  need  the  chance  to  play  and  they  need 
to  be  taught  how  to  play. 

The  play  instinct  is  not  entirely  dead.  The 
Chinese  have  the  passive  forms  of  recreation,  as 
the  theatre,  magicians,  gambling  with  cards  and 
dice,  resting  in  the  tea-houses,  feasts,  flying 
pigeons,  fighting  birds  and  crickets,  etc.  In  kite 
flying,  recreation  becomes  more  active  and  the 
adult  play  and  child  play  overlap.  The  children 
are  not  actively  playful,  perhaps,  as  Western 
children  yet  they  have  a  great  many  games,  and 
are  frequently  to  be  seen  playing  in  the  streets. 
These  games  are  usually  competitive,  which 
gives  a  chance  for  gambling,  though  they  re¬ 
quire  some  skill;  they  are  also  imitative  of 
adult  life.  During  the  recent  revolution,  the 
writer  saw  a  group  of  ragged  youngsters  playing 
in  the  street  and  acting  out  the  Red  Cross 
stretcher  service  for  wounded  soldiers — promis¬ 
ing  material  for  Boy  Scouts.  They  wTere  enjoy¬ 
ing  it  greatly. 

The  Chinese  are  not  unresponsive  when  oppor¬ 
tunities  are  given  them  to  play.  The  coolies  fre¬ 
quently  engage  in  horse-play  among  themselves 
while  resting;  sometimes  the  ricksha  and  wheel- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  209 

barrow  coolies  run  races  a  short  distance  along 
the  road,  just  in  fun.  The  children  and  students 
respond  quite  enthusiastically  when  led  and 
shown  how  to  play.  In  the  home  of  the  Western 
teacher,  they  enter  heartily  into  games  and  con¬ 
tests  that  furnish  play  opportunities  for  young 
people  and  adults.  They  are  entering  athletic 
sports  in  spite  of  the  scholarly  traditions  of  their 
past  that  forbid  them  to  run  or  hurry,  or  to 
engage  in  any  physical  exercise  more  strenuous 
than  a  dignified  walk,  or  using  a  fan  or  earners 
hair  pen.  The  records  made  in  the  various  ath¬ 
letic  meets  show  that  they  are  capable  of  per¬ 
forming  these  play  activities  with  increasing 
efficiency. 

A  group  of  street  urchins  was  gambling  with 
coins  in  front  of  the  little  mission  chapel ;  when 
invited  to  come  in,  they  decided  to  go  somewhere 
else  and  continue  their  game.  After  the  Sunday 
school  service  closed,  they  returned  and  began 
their  game.  This  time  they  were  asked  to  join 
in  another  game,  “drop-the-handkerchief” ;  they 
quickly  gathered  about  thirty  children,  played 
for  twenty  minutes  under  direction  and  con¬ 
tinued  for  some  time  after  the  foreigner  left 
them.  It  is  claimed  by  experienced  kindergart- 
ners  that  little  teaching  can  be  done  until  the 
children  are  aroused  to  mental  activity  by  play, 
particularly  through  the  co-operative  games. 


210  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

There  is  the  native  instinct  and  the  responsive¬ 
ness  to  leadership;  the  incident  just  described 
shows  the  moral  and  religious  implications  of 
play. 

It  is  necessary  to  consider  the  change  that 
is  in  progress  and  the  resulting  problems,  pres¬ 
ent  and  future.  As  industrialism  speeds  up  the 
East  there  will  be  increasing  need  for  play  and 
amusements. 

The  school  life  is  changing  from  its  old  easy 
discipline  and  long  days  to  the  strenuous  dis¬ 
ciplinary  ideals  of  Western  education,  with 
shorter  hours  in  school  and  more  time  to  loaf  on 
the  streets.  There  are  two  very  important  ques¬ 
tions  involved  in  this  change :  What  will  be  the 
physical  and  mental  effect  of  the  more  repressive 
discipline  of  the  Western  school?  What  will  be 

the  moral  effect  of  the  idle  time  much  of  which 

✓ 

will  be  spent  on  the  streets? 

The  physical  condition  of  the  Chinese  students 
presents  a  very  real  recreational  need.  Measure¬ 
ments  made  in  several  schools,  as  well  as  general 
observations,  show  that  the  Chinese  student  is 
below  the  average  Western  student  in  physical 
strength  and  endurance.  Professor  N.  Gist  Gee, 
in  the  April  number,  1915,  of  the  China  Educa¬ 
tional  Review ,  gives  the  following  report  on  the 
physical  characteristics  of  the  average  Chinese 
student,  based  on  the  examination  of  over  three 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  211 

hundred  and  fifty  students  entered  in  Soochow 
University. 

THE  AVERAGE  STUDENT 

Age 
Weight 
Height 

Lung  capacity 
Right  arm 
Right  thigh 
Figure  slightly  stooped 
Pulls-up 


17.77  yrs. 
97.8  lbs. 

5  ft.  4  in. 
155  cu.  in. 
9.1  in. 
17.34  in. 

3.28  times 


“Yale  in  China”  physical  report  on  one  hun¬ 
dred  and  eighty-two  students  shows  general  aver¬ 
ages  as  follows :  Age  19  yrs.,  height  5  ft.  3  in., 
66  per  cent,  were  below  the  British  army  test. 
The  following  table  of  comparison  with  American 
students  in  Yale  is  based  on  the  measurements 
of  twenty-three  Chinese  students.95 


Chinese 

American 

Age 

18 

18 

Weight 

104.1  lbs. 

119  plus 

Height 

5  ft.  3  in. 

plus 

Lung  capacity 

187.4 

192 

Right  arm 

9.9 

10.7 

Right  thigh 

17.4 

19.4 

Pulls-up 

1. 

9 

Total  strength 

628.8 

1024.5 

These  figures  are  significant  but  not  conclu¬ 
sive;  racial  characteristics  in  size  might  play 


212  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


an  important  part  in  the  comparison;  the  com¬ 
parison  of  the  Chinese  or  the  Americans  with 
the  Sikhs  of  India  would  show  considerable  dis¬ 
paragement  in  favor  of  the  Sikhs  in  respect  to 
height.  The  figures  from  the  medical  report  are 
more  significant  of  the  need  of  attention  to  the 

athletic  recreations  of  the  Chinese  students. 

s 

General  appearance:  Posture,  stooping,  65  per  cent; 
head  forward,  73  per  cent;  shoulders,  round,  67  per 
cent;  chest,  flat,  50  per  cent;  costal  angle,  narrow, 
56  per  cent;  scoliosis,  32  per  cent;  feet,  toes  crowded, 
60  per  cent,  arches  weak,  72  per  cent;  circulation, 
good,  31  per  cent,  poor,  35  per  cent;  development,  good, 
20  per  cent,  fair,  41  per  cent,  poor,  39  per  cent. 

These  are  striking  figures  from  a  longer  list  of 
physical  defects. 

A  more  recent  report  on  the  physical  condi¬ 
tions  of  the  students  in  the  Shanghai  Baptist 
college,  by  Professor  D.  H.  Kulp,  states  that  50 
per  cent,  of  their  students  have  defective  eyesight 
and  substantiates  the  other  reports  on  physical 
defects.  The  same  report  comments  on  the  loss 
of  play  spirit  under  the  old  Chinese  educational 
system  and  deplores  the  “hit-or-miss  type”  of  the 
play  activities  in  our  Christian  institutions, 
which  are  liable  to  do  harm  when  only  good  was 
intended.96 

The  economic  considerations  are,  perhaps,  the 
most  important  because  they  affect  so  largely 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  213 


all  the  other  factors.  “Perhaps  the  greatest 
problem  that  lies  before  the  play  movement  to¬ 
day  is  to  introduce  play  elements  into  modern 
industry  that  there  may  be  left  still  the  joy  of 
accomplishment  to  the  worker.”  97  This  state¬ 
ment  is  made  with  relation  to  Western  condi¬ 
tions  but  is  equally  true  of  China.  The  West  will 
take  the  lead  in  working  out  this  problem,  but 
it  must  be  kept  clearly  in  mind  in  the  East.  In¬ 
creased  production  by  machinery  will  decrease 
the  number  of  hours  of  labor  and  give  more  hours 
for  leisure.  What  use  will  the  Chinese  make 
of  that  time?  What  is  being  done  to  prepare 
them  to  make  the  right  use  of  it? 

The  long  hours  and  the  high  speed  and  pressure  of 
industry  use  up  the  vitality  of  all  except  the  most 
capable.  An  exhausted  body  craves  rest,  change  and 
stimulus,  but  it  responds  only  to  coarse  and  strong 
stimulation.  In  all  mill  towns  where  the  long  work 
day  is  the  rule,  the  night  school,  library  and  church 
languish,  and  the  saloon  and  house  of  prostitution 
flourish.  Drink  and  sexual  vice  are  the  ready  pillows 
of  an  exhausted  body,  the  only  forms  of  play  which 
degradation  knows.98 

These  same  conditions  are  coming  in  China; 
first,  the  long  hours  until  production  catches 
up  with  the  demand,  then,  the  shortened  hours 
and  the  speeding-up  process.  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  is  seeking  to  establish  night-schools,  read¬ 
ing-rooms,  and  churches.  Is  there  any  reason  to 


214  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


expect  better  results  there,  than  have  been  se¬ 
cured  in  Christian  America?  It  seems  that 
China  won  her  fight  against  alcoholic  intoxi¬ 
cants  centuries  ago,  but  she  is  still  in  the  grip 
of  the  social  evil,  and  she  is  not  yet  entirely  free 
from  the  dangers  of  the  opium  vice.  The  ex¬ 
hausted  Chinese  body  will  not  respond  to  the 
finer  impulses  and  stimuli  any  more  readily  than 
will  the  tired  Western  body.  What  is  the  use 
of  disregarding  such  powerful  forces  that  run 
contrary  to  all  that  we  are  trying  to  do  in  Chris¬ 
tian  education? 

Are  we  awake  to  the  meaning  of  youth?  Do  we 
understand  the  spirit  of  youth  and  enrich  it,  or  do 
we  merely  repress  it  with  heavy  hand  until  it  is  sadly 
broken,  or  until  it  breaks  away  from  all  control  and 
guidance  to  seek  expression  in  the  exploiter’s  house  ? 99 

This  is  what  men  are  asking  in  America  with 
increasing  insistency;  we  must  answer  it  in 
China. 

A  detailed  study  of  the  growth  of  Chinese 
amusements,  based  on  what  is  already  begun  and 
what  is  likely  to  develop,  might  be  conducted  on 
the  following  outline.*  It  is  possible  here  only 
to  suggest  some  of  the  data  under  these  several 
heads. 

Dramatic  amusements.  The  theatres  are  en- 

*  The  outline  was  suggested  by  Edwards’  “Popular  Amuse¬ 
ments.” 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  215 

dowed  and  are  popular  in  China  and  include  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  stage  in  the  West. 
The  part  which  theatricals  have  played  in  the 
development  of  Western  civilization,  even  in  re¬ 
ligion  as  in  the  miracle  and  morality  plays, 
makes  it  impossible  to  deny  their  educational 
value.  The  old  theatricals  were  largely  histori¬ 
cal  and  tragic;  the  modern  theatre  has  more  of 
comedy  and  farce.  There  is  practically  no  danc¬ 
ing;  women  are  not  allowed  on  the  stage;  men 
take  the  female  parts  and  sing  in  falsetto.  All 
this  kind  of  entertainment  is  in  the  hands  of 
professionals,  but  the  students  enter  into  ama¬ 
teur  work  with  keen  relish  and  remarkable  free¬ 
dom  from  embarrassment  and  self-consciousness. 
Here  is  another  vast  field  of  possibilities  for  good 
or  evil  in  education.  Shall  this  native  ability  be 
trained  and  utilized  as  a  means  of  play  activity 
and  education,  or  shall  it  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  the  hands  of  professionals  for  commercial 
gain?  The  motion  picture  has  already  become 
very  popular;  its  rapid  growth  in  America  is  a 
warning  of  what  is  coming  in  China,  and  it 
should  have  careful  attention  from  those  who 
would  educate  the  country. 

Social  rendezvous.  Tea-houses,  guilds.  The 
Chinese  are  fond  of  spending  their  leisure  time, 
in  these  places,  drinking  tea. 

The  athletic  group  of  amusements.  The  Chi- 


216  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

nese  have  not  been  fond  of  athletics  for  the  sake 
of  the  play  element;  they  have  developed  some 
remarkable  acrobats,  strong  men,  and  jugglers 
for  commercial  gain.  There  is  developing  a  new 
interest  in  athletics  for  sport,  outside  of  the 
schools  and  colleges  as  well  as  within  them.  Of 
the  specialized  forms  of  play  introduced  in  the 
schools,  tennis  is  perhaps  the  most  popular  at 
present  and  seems  better  adapted  to  the  physical 
condition  of  the  majority  of  the  students,  though 
some  prefer  the  more  active  forms. 

Special  places  of  amusement.  There  is  noth¬ 
ing  exactly  like  the  electric  parks,  and  race¬ 
tracks  of  the  West;  the  nearest  approach  is,  per¬ 
haps,  the  gatherings  at  favorite  temples  on  cer¬ 
tain  feast  days.  An  exact  comparison  of  the 
moral  consequences,  if  possible,  might  produce 
some  startling  facts  not  entirely  to  the  credit  of 
the  Western  places  of  amusement,  and  not  com¬ 
mend  idolatry  either. 

Special  events .  Excursions,  outings,  circuses, 
county,  state  and  world  fairs,  automobile  races, 
aeroplane  flights  and  balloon  ascensions,  etc.,  are 
still  almost  entirely  lacking  from  Chinese  amuse¬ 
ments.  It  is  probable  that  commercialism  will 
introduce  them.  Pageants  and  historic  festivals 
would  probably  make  a  strong  appeal  to  the  Chi¬ 
nese  and  might  have  great  educational  and  social 
value.  At  present  there  is  none  of  the  free  social 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  217 


mingling  of  the  sexes,  but  it  is  rapidly  coming  as 
shown  by  the  part  which  the  girls  took  in  the 
1921  Far  Eastern  Olympics  at  Shanghai.  The 
social  traditions  that  have  segregated  the  women 
and  girls  have,  in  one  way,  been  a  distinct  pro¬ 
tection  to  the  morality  of  the  home  and  have 
prevented  the  saturnalian  spirit  which  charac¬ 
terizes  the  ordinarily  respectable  crowd  on  New 
Year’s  Eve,  Hallowe’en,  Mardi  Gras,  carnivals, 
etc.,  in  the  West.  The  present  tendency  of  the 
contact  with  the  West  and  with  Christian  ideals 
is  to  break  down  these  old  moral  sanctions.  It 
is  highly  important  that  Christian  education 
should  stand  clear-eyed  and  ready  to  step  into 
that  break  which  has  already  begun  to  open  in 
these  old  social  defenses.  They  were  important 
defenses  of  the  old  social  order,  but  Christian 
education  seeks  a  new  order  and  must  consider 
the  probable  factors  involved  in  the  present  and 
future  recreational  needs  of  China. 

In  view  of  the  Chinese  fondness  for  being 
amused  rather  than  for  amusing  themselves  with 
active  recreation,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the 
traveling  story-teller,  the  juggler  and  sleight-of- 
hand  performer,  the  wandering  picture-show 
man,  even  the  Chinese  theatre  and  sing-song 
girls  of  the  old  style,  will  be  supplanted  by  new 
commercialized  forms  of  amusement,  some  of 
which  have  come  from  the  West.  The  instinct 


218  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


for  amusement  and  the  desire  for  gain  are  both 
present — essential  conditions  for  the  commercial¬ 
ization  of  amusement,  there  as  here.  China  has 
already,  in  the  course  of  her  own  social  evolu¬ 
tion,  passed  from  spontaneous  self-amusement  to 
dependence  on  the  professional,  in  singing,  story- 
telling,  and  dramatic  exhibitions. 

This  change,  in  the  West,  together  with  the 
change  to  specialized  forms  of  play  with  rules 
and  special  apparatus,  such  as  baseball,  foot¬ 
ball,  tennis,  etc.,  has  made  regulation  of  these 
amusements  necessary.  These  have  taken  the 
form  of  license,  censorship,  and  fines  for  com¬ 
mercialized  amusements;  management  by  public 
officials  of  playgrounds,  parks,  municipal  thea¬ 
tres,  public  buildings,  etc.  This  control  of 
amusements  will  be  accomplished  in  China  by 
two  kinds  of  regulation,  restrictive  and  con¬ 
structive. 

The  restrictive  control  comes  through  legisla¬ 
tion,  which  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Chinese  and 
has  already  begun.  They  have  undertaken  the 
censorship  of  the  motion  picture  films;  women 
actors  have  again  recently  been  ordered  from  the 
theatres  in  Shanghai,  which  promises  well  for 
the  moral  censorship  that  will  be  effected. 

The  constructive  control  is  the  particular  field 
where  Christian  education  can  best  exert  its  in¬ 
fluence.  It  depends  largely  on  the  nature  of 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  219 


public  opinion  and  that  is  determined  by  edu¬ 
cation.  The  task  is  tremendous.  Professionalism 
kills  the  natural  playful  spontaneity  and  orig¬ 
inality  and  cultivates  the  habit  of  being  amused ; 
this  is  to  be  rooted  out  and  the  people  must  be 
taught  to  amuse  themselves  and  find  joy  in  it. 
Commercialized  amusements  are  “always  edging 
along  toward  the  forbidden”;  they  break  down 
community  spirit  by  leading  the  individual  to 
prefer  the  miscellaneous  crowd  to  the  neighborly 
group;  they  ignore  the  real  needs  of  children; 
they  produce  thrills  and  satisfy  curiosity  on  a 
purely  financial  basis. 

The  depleted  emotions,  the  stimulated  lust,  the  crim¬ 
inal  tendencies  which  they  (certain  financial  interests) 
produce  by  their  exploitations  cannot  be  traced  back 
to  the  source  with  the  same  deadly  accuracy  as  bleak 
hillsides  and  slaughtered  stump  lots  may  be  laid  at 
the  door  of  deforestation,  but  the  methods  and  results 
are  not  essentially  dissimilar.  .  .  .  In  no  phase  of  our 
whole  great  modern  struggle  against  excessive  profits 
for  the  few  and  in  favor  of  human  values  for  the  many 
is  the  battle  any  keener  than  in  this  so-thought  “super¬ 
ficial”  question  of  popular  amusements.100 

Immorality  increases  as  the  crowds  tire  of  the 
cheap  thrills  that  they  have  paid  for. 

If  these  young  people  are  to  have  their  rightful 
share  of  high  joy  in  life,  morality  must  have  the  utmost 
reinforcement,  for  power  of  personal  morality — the 
power  of  the  individual  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose 


220  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


the  good — is  nowhere  more  needed  than  in  the  hodge¬ 
podge  of  confusions  which  characterize  amusement 
offerings  today,  often  making  evil  seem  attractive  and 
a  good  life  repellent  rather  than  beautiful.101 

What  are  the  values  of  present  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  in  the  face  of  such  responsibility?  What 
is  being  done  to  reinforce  the  moral  power  of 
the  individual  to  choose  the  good  because  he 
knows  it  is  good? 

Constructive  public  opinion  offers  more  fundamental 
solutions;  it  strives  to  get  at  the  deep-seated  causes 
of  the  evils  which  have  emerged  and  cut  them  off  at 
their  source.  It  seeks  to  discover  the  normal  human 
desire  which  has  been  perverted  in  its  expression,  and 
to  work  for  a  natural  wholesome  expression  of  that 
desire.  It  maps  out  a  progressive  type  (restrictive)  to 
a  prolonged  campaign  and  the  support  of  thorough¬ 
going  solutions.102 

If  this  is  the  task  before  the  Christian  com¬ 
munity  in  the  West  with  all  its  educational 
agencies,  it  is  much  more  the  task  of  all  Christian 
educational  agencies  in  China. 

Surely  it  is  not  necessary  to  demonstrate  fur¬ 
ther  the  moral,  religious  and  educational  value 
of  recreation ;  or  to  show  exactly  how,  in  its  dif¬ 
ferent  forms  it  promotes  loyalty,  honesty,  self- 
control,  quick  and  accurate  judgment,  courtesy, 
democracy,  sex-morality  by  directing  animal 
spirits  into  proper  channels,  a  sense  of  justice 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  221 


and  fair-play,  friendliness  and  social  co-opera¬ 
tion.  These  are  prime  Christian  virtues  and  we 
seek  them  by  Christian  education.  We  still  have 
far  to  go  before  we  achieve  them  in  their  desired 
fullness  in  the  West,  but  we  are  working  at  the 
problem.  In  China,  can  we  not  look  ahead  and 
plan  to  teach  the  people  at  least,  how  to  use  their 
leisure  time,  how  to  regulate  their  recreations 
to  obtain  a  maximum  of  good  with  a  minimum  of 
evil  consequences?  Or,  must  we  leave  them  to 
blunder  along  helplessly  and  ignorantly? 

li  Christian  education  is  helpless,  then  think 
of  what  is  ahead  for  China !  For  instance,  the 
disgraceful  debauches  of  the  American  Fourth 
of  July,  Thanksgiving  Day,  New  Year’s  Day,  or 
even  the  regular  Saturday  night  conditions  in 
the  cities  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other; 
police  courts  full  the  next  day — and  this  does 
not  begin  to  tell  the  tale  of  moral  degradation 
and  economic  waste.  Are  the  people  to  blame? 
Who  taught  them  how  to  use  this  leisure  time? 
Is  it  not  true  that  the  Church  has  condemned 
almost  all  amusements  as  sinful  and  only  yielded 
slight  concessions  to  the  demands  of  nature  when 
she  saw  the  young  people  were  breaking  away 
entirely?  Have  our  youth  not  been  left  largely 
to  their  own  devices  for  amusement  and  recrea¬ 
tion?  Is  it  not  true  that  the  schools  have  been 
so  busy  pouring  information  into  the  minds  of 


222  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

the  pupils  that  they  have,  until  this  generation, 
neglected  the  other  natural  human  needs?  What 
have  the  church  and  the  school  done  for  the 
adults  of  this  present  generation  in  the  way  of 
teaching  them  a  number  of  helpful,  wholesome 
methods  of  employing  leisure  time  and  cultivat¬ 
ing  the  taste  for  these  ways?  Has  it  not  hap¬ 
pened  that  these  lives,  swept  clean  of  nearly  all 
the  play  activities  of  the  normal  boy  and  girl, 
have  been  left  to  their  own  devices  and  to  the 
mercy  of  the  demon  of  commercialism,  who  has 
returned  to  claim  the  life  that  was  left  so  barren 
of  God-given  joys  of  play  and  fill  it  with  all  the 
demons  of  immorality  that  rule  Western  amuse¬ 
ments? 

Instead  of  society  developing  and  using  the 
motion  picture  and  the  phonograph  for  the  ends 
of  general  education,  morals  and  religion,  it  has 
allowed  a  few  individuals  to  develop  and  use 
them  for  personal  gain.  Western  society  has 
paid  the  price  in  the  precious  souls  of  young  men 
and  women  and  the  paying  has  not  stopped  yet. 
The  things  are  perfected  now;  the  exploiter  can 
be  made  to  hand  over  a  forged  instrument  to 
China.  The  promoter  has  made  fortunes  in  spite 
of  his  financial  risks.  Shall  he  be  allowed  to 
gain  more  wealth  from  the  souls  of  the  Chinese 
young  men  and  women  because  the  church  and 
the  Christian  schools,  the  agencies  best  fitted  to 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  223 

do  the  work,  refuse  to  recognize  these  God-given 
instincts  of  human  nature  and  provide  for  their 
legitimate  satisfaction?  Are  we  still  bound  by 
Seventeenth  century  moral  and  religious  ideals 
and  ignorance  of  natural  truths?  If  this  state¬ 
ment  seems  too  strong,  it  is  the  heart  cry  of  one, 
who,  in  spite  of  the  best  of  Christian  home  ideals, 
sees  what  he  was  denied  in  childhood  and  youth 
and  tries,  at  middle  age  and  with  poor  success, 
to  learn  to  play  for  the  sake  of  over-worked 
nerves. 

The  problem  of  play  touches  religion  vitally 
in  the  matter  of  Sunday  observance.  Automo- 
biling,  baseball,  tennis,  are  forms  of  amusement 
that  claim  more  participants  on  Sunday  than  do 
the  church  services.  This  happens  in  sections 
of  the  country  where  little  over  a  hundred  years 
ago  it  was  a  legal  offense  not  to  attend  church. 
It  is  a  condition  that  makes  sick  the  heart  of 
any  earnest  Christian  man  and  lover  of  human¬ 
ity.  Prohibitive  legislation  did  not  prevent  the 
development  of  this  condition.  Is  it  not  possible 
that  society  might  have  had  its  better  wish  had  it, 
through  its  proper  agencies  of  church  and 
school,  provided  for  and  directed  this  instinct 
for  recreation? 

Many  amusements  that  were  condemned  and 
branded  as  iniquitous  have  been  taken  up,  puri¬ 
fied,  and  used  for  the  salvation  of  many  young 


224  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


men  and  women  by  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and  the  Y.  W. 
C.  A.  Where  does  the  credit  for  this  belong? 
What  institutions  have  stood  behind  and  pro¬ 
moted  this  kind  of  thing  with  whole-hearted  co¬ 
operation?  How  can  any  one  think  of  these  con¬ 
ditions,  face  them  honestly,  trace  the  effects  back 
to  their  natural  causes  and  deny  that  a  nom¬ 
inal  Christian  civilization  has  made  a  sickening 
failure  in  dealing  with  needed  and  legitimate 
recreation?  There  was  the  excuse  of  ignorance 
and  inexperience ;  we  were  taken  unawares. 
Such  is  not  the  case  in  China  today.  Cannot 
Christian  education,  there,  more  intelligently  and 
effectually  meet  these  recreational  needs?  It 
can,  but  its  ideas  of  value  and  its  methods  of 
achieving  these  values  must  change  as  they  are 
slowly  changing  in  the  West. 


CHAPTER  XII 


THE  NEEDS — CULTURAL 

Cultural  needs  are  closely  related  to  the 
recreational.  They  are  predominantly  intellect¬ 
ual  and  emotional,  and  are  based  on  the  educa¬ 
tive  instinct  of  curiosity  and  on  the  aesthetic 
instincts.  As  such,  they  are  fundamental  life 
needs  and  cannot  be  ignored.  The  general  satis¬ 
faction  of  these  cultural  needs  depends,  also,  on 
the  amount  of  surplus  energy  and  leisure  time 
left  after  the  needs  for  food  and  shelter  have 
been  satisfied,  though,  with  some  individuals  the 
cultural  needs  are  so  strong  that  they  will  go 
without  food  and  comfortable  clothing  in  order 
to  satisfy  them.  The  underlying  instincts  are 
common  to  all  races,  but  mastery  of  the  forces 
of  nature  have  produced,  in  some  races,  condi¬ 
tions  more  favorable  to  the  development  of  the 
instincts  and  the  satisfaction  of  the  needs. 

Cultural  activity  is  of  two  types,  productive 

and  appreciative  ;  both  of  these  are  essentially 

social.  Production  of  cultural  material  is 

thought,  by  some,  to  be  due  more  largely  to 

social  stimuli  than  to  natural  endowment,  though 

225 


226  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

they  do  not  hold  that  social  stimuli  alone  could 
produce  the  results.  Appreciation  is  social  be¬ 
cause  it  depends  on  the  cultural  activity  of  others 
almost  entirely  for  its  satisfaction.  Production 
and  appreciation  are  mutually  helpful.  Cultural 
activity  is  affected,  more  or  less,  by  all  phases 
of  the  social  life  of  the  race. 

Chinese  life  shows  the  instinctive  need  and 
the  presence  of  considerable  cultural  activity,  in 
the  production  of  many  fine  paintings,  in  beau¬ 
tiful  embroidery,  lacquer,  glass,  pottery,  brass, 
and  wood-work  for  decorations,  in  the  architec¬ 
ture  and  decoration  of  temples  and  public  build¬ 
ings,  in  sculpture,  in  classic  literary  styles  of 
prose  and  poetry,  in  story-telling,  and,  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  extent,  in  music.  The  Chinese  have  thou¬ 
sands  of  volumes  descriptive  of  their  own  cul¬ 
tural  activity  and  ideals,  but  ceramics  has  been 
the  chief  field  of  interest  and  investigations 
among  Europeans.* 

Little  more  need  be  said  of  the  classic  styles 
of  Chinese  literature.  There  are  some  thirty 
recognized  styles ;  China  cannot  afford  to  ignore 
this  rich  inheritance  but  it  cannot  afford  to  be 
dominated  by  it  as  Chin  Shih  Huang  well  under¬ 
stood.  This  inheritance  has  been  accumulated 
by  a  comparatively  small  number  of  individuals 

*  For  a  fuller,  sympathetic,  and  interesting  description  of 
Chinese  cultural  activities,  see  “Chinese  Art,”  two  vols.,  by 
S.  W.  Bushell.  Also  “L’Art  Chinois,”  by  M.  Paleologue. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  227 


and  has  been  available  for  only  a  limited  number, 
but,  for  those  fortunate  classes,  it  has  been  as 
truly  a  culture  as  have  our  literary  classics  in 
the  West.  The  culture  has  been  indigenous,  not 
borrowed  or  superimposed  to  any  great  extent. 
While  keeping  herself  free  to  meet  her  changing 
cultural  needs  in  the  rising  generations,  China 
must  cultivate  the  best  literary  style,  but  it  must 
be  a  style  that  is  more  flexible,  democratic  and 
serviceable. 

Chinese  art  has  probably  been  more  demo¬ 
cratic  than  has  the  literature  because  larger 
numbers  have  been  engaged  in  the  production 
of  some  of  the  forms  and  even  the  poorest  could 
see,  enjoy,  and  learn  to  appreciate  the  work  of 
others;  the  literary  art  was  open  only  to  the 
scholars.  The  great  number  of  Chinese  books 
covering  the  various  fields  of  their  own  art  and 
antiquities,  are  testimony  to  their  cultural  in¬ 
terest,*  and  make  possible  the  future  study  of 
their  activities;  it  is  difficult  to  refrain  from 
giving  at  least  a  summary  of  the  characteristic 
features  of  Chinese  art.f  Religion,  particularly 
Buddhism,  and  literature  have  largely  influenced 
Chinese  painting. 

*  For  Chinese  appreciation  translated  into  English,  see  “A 
Monograph  on  Painting  Portraits,”  by  Tseng  Kuo  Fan;  Tr. 
by  E.  Morgan,  “Wenli  Styles  and  Chinese  Ideals,”  pp.  98,  99. 

t  For  such  summary,  see  Anderson’s  “British  Museum 
Catalog”  p.  491,  quoted  by  S.  W.  Bushell,  “Chinese  Art” 
VoL  11,  Chap.  VI,  p.  112. 


228  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


For  a  suggestion  as  to  the  mental  attitude 
which  the  Christian  teacher,  as  well  as  the  art 
connoisseur,  should  take,  the  following  quota¬ 
tion  is  helpful : 

In  the  study  of  Chinese  painting  a  recent  critic,  M. 
R.  Marguerye,  justly  observes  that  to  appreciate  it 
properly  the  Westerner  must  forget  his  own  mental 
preconceptions,  and  must  throw  over  his  artistic  edu¬ 
cation,  every  critical  tradition,  and  all  the  aesthetic 
baggage  that  has  accumulated  from  the  renaissance  to 
our  own  days.  If  this  is  done,  it  will  be  found  that 
the  Chinese  painters  have  had  from  the  first  a  fine 
feeling  for  colour;  .  .  .  that  they  have  treated  in 
turn  mythological,  religious  and  historical  subjects  of 
every  kind;  they  have  painted  scenes  of  daily  familiar 
life,  as  well  as  those  inspired  by  poetry  and  romance; 
sketched  still  life,  landscape  and  portraits.  Their 
highest  achievements,  perhaps,  have  been  in  the  land¬ 
scapes,  which  reveal  a  passionate  love  for  nature,  and 
show  with  how  delicate  a  charm,  how  sincere  and  lively 
a  poetic  feeling,  they  have  interpreted  its  every 
aspect.103 

The  fact  is  that  Chinese  cultural  activities 
are  much  more  numerous  and  of  a  much  higher 
grade  than  many  Westerners,  perhaps  the  ma¬ 
jority,  realize.  China  has  not  reached  a  stage 
where  it  can  be  said  that  “the  struggle  among 
human  beings  at  the  present  time  is  not  so  much 
for  necessities  of  life  as  for  cultural  materials 
and  opportunities/’  but,  with  their  past  achieve¬ 
ments  and  the  changing  economic  conditions,  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  220 

statement  will  some  day  be  as  true  of  them  as  it 
is  of  the  Western  nations  today.  Their  past  his¬ 
tory  shows  their  capacity  for  the  aesthetic;  the 
Tang  Dynasty  (618-906  A.D.)  was  the  “golden 
period  of  art,  literature,  belles-lettres,  and 
poetry”;  and  the  Song  Dynasty  (906-1279  A.D.) 
has  been  called  the  Augustan  era,  but  there  has 
been  little  progress  since  that  time. 

China  has  possessed  the  common  media  for 
the  transmission  of  culture,  the  written  and 
spoken  language,  contact  with  other  nations,  ex¬ 
change  of  products;  the  media  for  diffusion  of 
culture  have  been  present  but  not  effective  on  a 
large  scale;  there  have  been  imperial  museums 
and  libraries  but  they  were  not  available  for  the 
masses;  there  have  been  theatres,  book  and  pic¬ 
ture  publishing  establishments,  and  schools. 
Much  of  the  early  painting  was  done  by  court 
artists,  on  the  walls  and  ceilings  of  buildings 
long  since  destroyed. 

Professor  Kirkpatrick  says :  “Next  to  the 
newspaper,  no  invention  provides  greater  facili¬ 
ties  for  the  diffusion  of  culture  than  the  moving- 
picture  films.”  The  Chinese  have  long  had  the 
newspaper  and  the  motion  picture  has  been  in¬ 
troduced.  China  has  these  two  powerful  agencies 
for  giving  culture  to  the  masses.  “The  general 
tendency  in  recent  times,  however,  toward  the 
development  of  democracy  has  greatly  increased 


230  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

the  diffusion  of  all  sorts  of  culture  among  all 
classes  of  people.”  This  fact,  spoken  with  ref¬ 
erence  to  the  West,  is  equally  true,  in  fact  if  not 
in  degree,  of  China  and  must  be  kept  in  mind  in 
planning  for  the  cultural  development. 

What  is  the  relation  between  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  and  Chinese  cultural  needs  and  activities? 
They  furnish  a  point  of  contact  with  Chinese 
life ;  they  reveal  the  highest  spiritual  aspirations 
and  the  finest  instincts  of  the  Chinese;  they  tell 
much  about  the  religious  experience  of  the  peo¬ 
ple;  they  furnish  splendid  data  for  a  study  of 
racial  psychology ;  they  constitute  their  own 
racial  inheritance,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they 
have  received  and  absorbed  certain  foreign  im¬ 
pulses. 

Christian  education  seeks  to  meet  these  cul¬ 
tural  needs  by  the  introduction  of  Western  cul¬ 
ture,  and  largely  ignores  Chinese  culture.  It 
violates  the  pedagogical  principle  that  the  in¬ 
dividual  should  be  permitted  and  encouraged  to 
grow  along  the  line  of  his  own  natural  endow¬ 
ment,  rather  than  forced  into  certain  lines  of 
development  that  are  chosen  by  the  parent  or 
teacher.  Giving  this  liberty  for  individual  and 
natural  development,  does  not  preclude  the  need 
of  teaching,  or  the  presentation  of  cultural  ma¬ 
terial  to  the  child.  If  the  process  continues  they 
will  become  a  nation  of  imitators;  if  their  own 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  231 


culture  is  studied  and  their  own  activity  and 
appreciation  is  cultivated,  it  may  be  possible  to 
stir  the  springs  of  their  own  originality  and  pro¬ 
ductiveness,  and  China  and  the  world  will  gain 
thereby. 

One  of  the  faults  of  Japanese  education  has 
been  “the  little  attention  paid  to  mere  culture” ; 
it  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  Chinese 
government  education  is  leaning  strongly  toward 
the  vocational  and  technical  and  the  danger  has 
been  mentioned.  Would  not  Christian  education 
in  both  these  countries  better  meet  the  cultural 
needs  of  the  people  by  starting  frankly  and  sym¬ 
pathetically  with  their  own  cultural  achieve¬ 
ments,  quickening  the  interest  in  and  the  appre¬ 
ciation  of  these,  and  through  this  process  lead 
them  to  the  Western  culture  material?  Is  there 
any  pedagogical  sense  in  trying  to  introduce 
them  to  a  cultural  material  so  radically  different, 
as  shown  by  the  quotations  from  M.  K.  Mar- 
guerye,  except  through  the  “known”  of  their  own 
rich  culture  material.  There  is  a  great  moral 
advantage  in  the  freedom  of  Chinese  art  from 
the  sensuality  of  Western  art.  Although,  in  the 
democracy,  culture  will  become  more  and  more 
the  common  possession  of  all  the  people,  it  is 
to  be  remembered  that,  for  people  of  wealth  and 
leisure,  cultural  activity  is  almost  the  only  alter¬ 
native  of  dissipation  and  degradation.  The  same 


232  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


principle  works  with  all  classes  in  a  less  degree 
because  they  have  less  leisure. 

Cannot  Christian  education  influence  the  two 
chief  media  for  the  diffusion  of  culture,  the  news* 
paper  and  the  motion  picture  films?  It  is  pos¬ 
sible  to  link  the  Chinese  course  in  college  in  a 
practical  way  with  the  Chinese  newspapers,  hay¬ 
ing  particular  consideration  for  the  cultural 
needs.  We  need  not  stand  helpless  and  see  this 
cultural  instinct  and  capacity  commercialized 
and  poisoned.  We  have  a  fair  chance  with  the 
commercial  interests  before  they  get  their  grip  on 
the  situation;  it  would  be  possible  to  undertake 
the  use  of  motion  pictures  on  a  large  scale  for 
educational  purposes,  if  Christian  and  Chinese 
moral  and  educational  interests  would  combine. 
No  more  consideration  is  due  these  exploiters  of 
humanity  than  is  due  the  seller  of  opium.  Sys¬ 
tematic  poisoning  of  the  mind  and  deadening  of 
the  morals  by  vicious  pictures  is  as  serious  for 
China  as  if  it  were  done  by  opium.  Educational 
values  lie  in  the  ability  to  deal  intelligently  and 
effectively  with  this  vital  human  need. 


4 


CHAPTER  XIII 


THE  NEEDS — SOCIAL 

The  social  instinct,  gregariousness  or  the 
desire  to  be  with  others  for  the  pleasure  it  gives, 
is  apparent  in  animals  and  men ;  it  is  closely  re¬ 
lated  to  other  important  life  functions,  such  as 
protection  and  reproduction,  but  exists  where 
these  do  not  figure  largely  at  all.  It  is  a  complex 
or  derived  instinct  and  is  essentially  altruistic, 
but  is  often  practically  egoistic  in  its  manifesta¬ 
tions  ;  it  is  essential  to  human  progress  and  pro¬ 
duces  a  real  social  need  that,  as  yet,  even  in  West¬ 
ern  society,  is  not  adequately  satisfied. 

Its  activities  do  not  appear  apart  from  the  or¬ 
dinary  work  and  play  activities  of  the  commun¬ 
ity,  and  they  represent  a  considerable  degree  of 
like-mindedness.  The  instinct  must  be  satisfied 
and  the  good  or  bad  results  are  a  secondary  con¬ 
sideration,  particularly,  if  the  individuals  are 
untrained  for  right  choices.  Evidently,  the 
social  instinct  functions  as  an  influence  to  be 
reckoned  with  in  any  purpose  of  social  recon¬ 
struction;  ignorance  of  and  indifference  to  the 

social  instinct  does  not  nullify  its  influence- 

233 


£34  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


knowledge  of  its  nature  and  manifestations,  and 
attention  to  its  needs,  may  largely  determine  that 
its  influence  shall  be  good.  This  possibility  con¬ 
stitutes  another  opportunity  for  education. 

The  social  instinct  in  the  Chinese  is  strong. 
This  is  shown  by  the  importance  attached  to  the 
family  life,  by  the  fact  that  three  or  four  genera¬ 
tions  live  together  under  one  roof,  and  by  the 
fact  that  they  are  very  seldom  found  living  alone 
separated  by  long  distances  from  neighbors ;  they 
live  in  small  villages  or  in  large  cities.  In  the 
family  and  community  life,  the  Chinese  have  ex¬ 
pressed  this  instinct  and  satisfied  its  needs  in 
much  the  same  manner  as  Western  peoples;  the 
occasions  and  character  of  their  social  inter¬ 
course  are  not  very  different  from  those  of  some 
parts  of  the  West.  The  Chinese  are  democratic 
and  friendly;  conversation  is  usually  not  diffi¬ 
cult  though  the  topics  of  conversation  are  very 
limited  and  so  stereotyped  as  to  be  reduced  to 
formal  and  polite  phraseology  covering  one’s 
name,  age,  family  relations,  and  business  inter¬ 
ests.  In  these  small  communities,  the  life  is  prac¬ 
tically  a  family  life;  the  old  and  the  young  are 
closely  associated  in  work  and  play  and  all  are 
well  known  one  to  another;  individual  person¬ 
ality  counts  for  more  in  such  a  group  than  in  the 
larger  groups.  The  intimacy  of  this  social  life 
is  shown  by  the  common  practice  of  borrowing: 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  235 

they  will  borrow  anything  that  happens  to  be 
needed.  There  are  instances  where  students  in 
a  theological  seminary  have  borrowed  garments 
without  the  consent  of  the  owner  and  even 
pawned  the  goods,  and  told  the  owner  later. 
There  is  evidently  a  strong  community  sense  that 
might  be  developed  and  utilized,  however  much 
one  might  disapprove  of  such  a  manifestation. 

It  is  necessary  to  give  special  consideration 
to  these  two  manifestations  of  the  social  instinct, 
the  family  and  the  community  life,  and  indicate 
their  development  and  utility,  but  it  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  discuss  them  in  detail. 

The  family  is  the  basis  and  the  unit  of  Chinese 
life  and  its  ramifications  are  varied  and  far- 
reaching  in  its  social  institutions.  Their  his¬ 
tory  shows  that  the  family  has  been  changing 
from  period  to  period.  A  careful  study  would 
lead  one  to  the  belief  that  it  has  been  a  develop¬ 
ment,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  it  is  not  yet  ideal. 
There  was  progress  when  in  2700  B.C.,  marriage 
supplanted  the  capture  of  brides,  although  polyg¬ 
amy  and  concubinage  were  common.104  Mar¬ 
riage  within  the  family  and  clan  was  checked 
early  in  their  development,  but  the  attempt  in 
the  period  from  A.D.  221  to  589,  to  forbid  the 
royal  family,  scholars,  and  common  people  to 
marry  outside  of  their  own  class  was  unsuccess¬ 
ful,  which  is  very  significant  of  the  right  social 


236  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

sense  of  the  race  and  of  their  spirit  of  democracy. 
“The  Chinese  draw  a  clear  distinction  between 
concubinage  (which  is  practically  slavery)  and 
polygamy;  and  we  know  of  no  condition  save 
one  ...  in  which  polygamy  is  legal  or  socially 
approved.”  105 

The  family  life  seems  to  have  been  determined 
by  circumstances,  rather  than  to  have  determined 
them,  and  it  is,  therefore,  those  present  and 
future  changes  arising  from  changing  conditions 
of  national  life  that  have  special  significance. 
Old  social  ties  are  breaking  up  and  new  ones 
must  be  established.  Shall  they  be  intelligent 
and  adequate  for  future  adjustments,  or  shall 
they  be  the  temporary  makeshifts  of  ignorance 
and  indifference? 

The  position  of  woman  is  changing  rapidly; 
Christianity  has  contributed  largely  to  this 
change.  Confucius  taught  that  she  was  by 
nature  inferior  to  man  and  her  education  con¬ 
sisted  in  learning  submission;  this  principle  is 
diametrically  opposed  to  the  rapidly  growing 
spirit  of  democracy.  But  there  is  a  change  for 
the  better,  although,  as  is  to  be  expected,  the  new 
liberty  has,  in  some  cases,  been  confused  with 
license.  The  women  must  learn  that  their  liber¬ 
ation  does  not  mean  that  they  are  a  law  unto 
themselves,  but  that  social  obligations  still  hold 
them.  Christian  education  has  been  one  of  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  237 

most  potent  factors  in  this  breaking  down  of  old 
factors  of  social  control  through  which  China  has 
for  centuries  preserved  her  racial  solidarity. 
Have  its  constructive  methods  been  as  direct  and 
effective  as  have  been  its  destructive  methods? 

Betrothal  power  has  been  almost  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  grandparents  and  parents;  the 
custom  was  not  without  its  social  value;  the 
West,  in  its  democratic  individualism,  has 
largely  broken  with  the  same  practice.  Young 
China  is  breaking  with  it  very  rapidly,  particu¬ 
larly  the  students  from  the  Christian  schools, 
and  is  treading  a  very  narrow  path  which  should 
lead  to  a  higher  plane  of  sex  relation  and  family 
life,  than  has  yet  been  attained  in  Western 
society.  Is  Christian  education  preparing  these 
young  men  and  women  any  more  effectively  to 
achieve  this  high  plane  than  the  church  and 
schools  did  the  young  men  and  women  as  the 
change  came  in  the  West?  Or  is  it  necessary 
to  let  them  blunder  along,  with  no  comprehensive, 
sympathetic  study  of  their  experiences,  into  a 
condition  of  family  life  and  sex  relations  as  pre¬ 
carious  as  the  United  States  is  now  facing? 

This  change  is  closely  related  to  the  question 
of  monogamy,  polygamy,  concubinage,  and 
divorce.  As  the  belief  that  the  spirits  of  the 
ancestors  control  the  fortunes  of  everyday  life, 
is  broken  down  by  modem  science,  the  urgency 


238  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

for  marriage  decreases.  The  women  with  a  sex- 
inheritance  of  centuries  of  exceptional  morality, 
and  with  new  freedom  within  their  grasp,  will 
probably  make  a  speedy  end  of  polygamy  and  con¬ 
cubinage  in  their  old  forms,  by  refusing  mar¬ 
riage  and  demanding  better  recognition  of 
divorce  rights.  The  new  industries  will  open  the 
way  of  economic  independence  for  many  women, 
as  in  the  West.  What  will  be  the  consequence? 

Theoretically  divorce  has  been  easy  for  men; 
practically  it  has  been  hard,  and  with  the  alter¬ 
native  of  concubinage  and  practical  polygamy  it 
has  not  been  very  common.  The  social  and  eco¬ 
nomic  conditions  that  have  automatically  pro¬ 
tected  the  women  are  disappearing  as  their  new 
liberty  appears;  the  greater  liberty  brings 
greater  responsibility.  What  will  be  the  moral 
consequences  of  this  change  from  polygamy  and 
concubinage  to  a* greatly  increased  number  of 
divorces?  The  conditions  in  Japan  are  signifi¬ 
cant  of  the  answer.  Although  woman  has  long 
been  accorded  a  higher  place  than  in  China,  she 
has  been  “regarded  as  inferior,  the  plaything  of 
man,  rather  than  as  his  companion  and  equal.”  106 
Japan  has  been  changing  under  the  same  influ¬ 
ences  and  ideals  that  are  now  fermenting  in 
China.  “The  result  of  this  laxity  in  divorce  laws 
was  seen  in  1891,  when  there  were  345  divorces 
for  every  thousand  marriages.”  107  “During  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  239 

last  twenty  years  the  proportion  has  diminished 
to  a  marked  degree.  Even  now,  in  Japan,  a  civil 
or  religious  ceremony  is  not  required  for  mar¬ 
riage.  All  that  is  necessary  is  for  a  couple  to 
begin  to  live  together.”  108  Such  conditions  could 
not  have  been  entirely  prevented  but  foresight 
and  education  might  have  ameliorated  them. 

In  judging  the  social  value  of  the  Chinese 
family  institution,  there  are  some  facts  relating 
to  family  life  in  the  United  States  that  we  must 
'  take  into  consideration.  There  has  been  a  free¬ 
dom  of  choice  between  the  contracting  parties, 
subject  to  parental  consent,  which  has  been 
abused  for  family  and  class  considerations  often 
enough  to  make  it  the  object  of  jokes  and  witti¬ 
cisms.  The  chief  regulation  of  marriage-life  has 
been  divorce  and  separation  and  the  conditions  of 
granting  divorce  have  been  similar  to  those  rec¬ 
ognized  in  China.  The  attitude  of  the  State  and 
the  Church  has  been  restrictive  and  prohibitive; 
until  very  recently  there  has  been  no  scientific, 
educative  effort  to  deal  with  the  complex  prob¬ 
lems  connected  with  this  phase  of  the  social  in¬ 
stinct.  These  are  the  facts  that  we  must  face 
and  from  which  we  must  judge  the  value  of  the 
methods  we  have  used. 

Divorces  are  more  common  in  Protestant  than  in 
Catholic  countries.  They  are  most  common  among  the 
native  whites  where  American  individualistic  ideas  are 


240  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


most  dominant.  .  .  .  Statistics  show  that  there  were 
more  divorces  in  the  United  States  than  in  all  the 
other  civilized  countries  together,  and  that  the  propor¬ 
tion  of  divorces  to  marriages  has  more  than  doubled  in 
thirty  years,  the  ratio  now  being  one  in  twelve.109 

In  spite  of  the  methods  that  have  been  used, 
divorce  has  increased;  it  might  suggest  that 
there  is  something  wrong  with  the  methods  un¬ 
less  one  is  convinced  of  the  increasing  moral  de¬ 
generacy  of  the  human  race,  which  seems  to  dis¬ 
credit  God’s  purpose  and  power  to  redeem  human 
society.  “The  real  problem  is  not  that  of  putting 
legal  difficulties  in  the  way  of  divorce,  but  in 
finding  the  causes  of  the  failure  of  family  life 
(which  divorces  reveal)  and  the  remedy  for  such 
failure.”  110 

It  may  be  seriously  questioned  if  concubinage, 
as  it  is  practiced  in  China,  is  any  more  disas¬ 
trous,  morally  and  socially,  than  the  continuous 
polygamy  through  divorce  and  remarriage,  which 
has  been  increasing  so  rapidly  in  the  United 
States  in  violation  of  religious  sanctions.  Can 
we  expect  religious  sanctions  that  have  failed 
with  our  most  cultured  classes  in  a  Christian 
civilization  to  work  a  miracle  in  this  chaos  of 
broken  Chinese  sanctions?  This  is  not  to  ap¬ 
prove  concubinage  nor  to  condemn  religious 
sanctions.  It  does  mean  that  the  religious  sanc¬ 
tions  must  be  based  on  sense  rather  than  simply 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  241 


on  sentiment;  that  they  must  he  interpretative 
and  educative  rather  than  prohibitive.  We  are 
bringing  to  China  some  grave  family  problems; 
we  are  seeking  to  develop  individuality,  origi¬ 
nality  and  initiative;  our  own  experience  in  the 
United  States  shows  the  relation  of  these  quali¬ 
ties  to  this  social  instinct.  How  many  Christian 
teachers  are  facing  this  maze  of  complex  in¬ 
fluences  and  trying  to  prepare  the  young  feet  to 
tread  its  paths  intelligently,  and  how  many  are 
confining  their  teaching  to  moral  generalities  and 
trusting  a  miracle  of  divine  grace,  which  has 
failed  to  materialize  in  the  United  States,  to 
bring  their  students  safely  through? 

Family  discipline  and  filial  piety  present  an¬ 
other  perplexing  and  critical  change. 

Family  life  in  China  has  not  been  ideal.  The  Chinese 
make  fond  parents  and  the  boys  are  under  no  real  dis¬ 
cipline.  Only  the  ingrained  feeling  of  filial  piety,  which 
is  enforced  upon  each  individual  by  all  his  education 
and  by  institutions  and  customs  of  society,  prevents  this 
lax  family  discipline  from  resulting  in  greater  evil.111 

Filial  piety  is  essentially  religious,  in  so  far 
as  it  is  an  attempt  to  get  right  with  the  spirit 
world.  Christian  education  objects  to  ancestor 
worship  which  is  directly  rooted  in  filial  piety 
and  seeks  to  break  down  the  institutions  and 
customs  that  support  it.  Ancestor  worship 
should  and  will  certainly  disappear  in  its  primi- 


242  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

tive  and  superstitious  forms,  but  it  has  moral 
elements  that  Christianity  wishes  to  foster.  It 
must  be  realized  that  in  destroying  it  we  are 
destroying  religious  sanctions  which  have  been 
essential  to  social  control  in  China.  Those  who 
believe  in  the  necessity  of  religious  sanctions  for 
right  moral  conduct,  should  be  the  first  to  realize 
the  seriousness  of  the  change  that  they  are  pro¬ 
moting.  What  equally  powerful  religious  sanc¬ 
tions,  what  definite  institutions  that  provide 
adequate  school  and  home  training,  and  what 
constructive  social  customs  is  Christian  educa¬ 
tion  offering? 

This  question  cannot  be  answered  satisfac¬ 
torily  by  pointing  to  the  few  exceptional  cases 
where  work  of  this  kind  is  being  done.  The 
challenge  comes  direct  to  the  whole  body  of 
Christian  educators  in  China.  Some  of  the  stu¬ 
dents  in  Christian  schools  have  started  the  cus¬ 
tom  of  observing  “Parents’  Day”  in  order  to 
adapt  their  ideas  on  filial  piety  and  ancestor 
worship  to  the  changing  conditions.  A  very  little 
work  is  being  done  in  training  girls  and  women 
for  home  life ;  almost  nothing  is  done  to  give  the 
boys  and  young  men  right  ideals  of  fatherhood. 
There  is  no  systematic,  thorough-going  education 
in  sex  hygiene,  parental  functions  and  child 
study. 

“We  have  done  other  things.  By  bringing 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  243 


commercial  products,  hospitals  and  educational 
institutions  to  China  we  have  silently  urged 
these  things  and  fostered  a  change  of  sentiment. 
But  one  may  question  whether  we  have  used  our 
schools  as  teaching  centers  to  alter  the  hygienic 
and  sanitary  conditions  of  large  numbers.” 

In  The  China  Medical  Missionary  Journal 
there  is  an  interesting  report  of  200  investiga¬ 
tions  made  by  Dr.  Mills  of  Korea.  As  one  of 
the  by-products  of  this  investigation  he  came  to 
this  conclusion : 

As  yet  the  ideas  of  hygiene  and  sanitation  and  care 
of  the  home  and  family  are  practically  the  same  whether 
heathen  or  Christian  and  will  remain  so  to  the  great 
detriment  of  Church  and  race  until  the  leaders  of  the 
faith,  evangelistic  and  educational,  as  well  as  medical, 
unite  to  strengthen  this  plastic  constituency  by  first 
reaching  the  home.112 

* 

These  are  only  a  few  of  the  evident  and  critical 
questions  of  family  life  in  China  for  which  Chris¬ 
tian  education  seems  to  be  finding  very  inade¬ 
quate  answers.  The  social  instinct  is  there,  is 
partly  developed,  but  almost  entirely  unused  by 
Christian  education.  A  student  goes  wrong  and 
the  incident  is  used  to  point  a  moral,  but  there 
is  no  frank  facing  of  the  underlying  causes,  and 
no  attempt  is  made  to  lead  the  other  students  to 
reach  right  moral  judgments  of  their  own  on  the 
case.  The  authority  from  the  classics  and  from 


241  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


the  Scriptures  is  given  them.  How  much  longer 
is  it  going  to  take  us  to  learn  that  this  is  not 
sufficient  in  a  world  that  is  moving  so  rapidly 
toward  democracy  and  the  responsibility  of  each 
individual  to  God  and  to  society?  It  is  impos¬ 
sible  to  take  time  for  the  study  of  these  practical 
problems  of  life,  with  volumes  of  classics  and 
textbooks  of  higher  mathematics  and  unrelated 
scientific  data  to  master.  Which  is  the  more 
valuable  from  the  standpoint  of  the  Kingdom, 
these  traditional  subjects  or  the  life-needs  of 
these  students?  113 

As  has  been  noted,  in  the  small  communities 
the  community  life  is  practically  a  family  life; 
in  the  larger  communities  there  are  different 
manifestations  of  the  social  instinct.  In  these 
larger  communities  there  is  practically  no  social 
life  as  the  term  is  understood  in  the  West.  There 
are  such  forms  of  recreation  and  festivity  as  have 
been  mentioned.  Then  there  are  the  formal  po¬ 
lite  calls  which  social  customs  make  necessary. 
Certain  exceptions  to  these  generalizations  might 
be  cited,  but  for  the  mass  of  the  people  the  gen¬ 
eral  statement  is  probably  correct. 

There  are  organizations  for  special  classes  and 
interests,  such  as  the  guilds  and  secret  societies, 
but  no  one  organization  representing  interests 
common  to  all  and  having  the  support  of  all. 
The  self-improvement  societies  of  later  days 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  245 


have  enlisted  the  interest  and  co-operation  of  the 
whole  community  to  a  certain  extent. 

The  fact  is  that  there  has  been  little  scientific 

study  of  the  community  life  and  activities  from 

; 

the  standpoint  of  the  “new  humanities.”  Only 
within  the  last  five  years  have  a  few  individuals 
who  have  come  out  from  the  United  States  with 
the  sociological  viewpoint,  undertaken  such 
studies.  These  investigations  have  been  reported 
in  the  'various  missionary  publications,  but  they 
have  not  yet  affected  the  work  in  the  schools  to 
any  marked  degree. 

More  surveys  are  needed;  perhaps  some  other 
features  should  be  added  connecting  the  data 
more  directly  to  education,  rather  than  consider¬ 
ing  the  conditions  from  the  somewhat  isolated 
viewpoint  of  pure  sociology.  These  surveys  fur¬ 
nish  splendid  opportunities  for  practical  work 
by  the  students  in  first-hand  contact  with  these 
social  problems. 

When  it  is  realized  how  undeveloped  is  the 
social  life  in  the  rural  districts  and  small  towns 
of  the  United  States,  and  what  part  this  fact  has 
played  in  driving  the  young  people  to  the  cities, 
and  how  the  social  conditions  have  deteriorated 
in  these  rural  districts  along  with  industrial  de¬ 
velopment,  it  becomes  apparent  that  the  probable 
shift  from  an  emphasis  on  agriculture  to  indus¬ 
trialism  in  China  will  be  fraught  with  complex 


246  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

problems.  Something  more  must  be  done  to  meet 
the  growing  social  demands  of  the  young  people 
than  was  done  in  America.  True,  the  social  in¬ 
stinct  has,  hitherto,  been  practically  undeveloped 
and  has  been  satisfied  by  semi-family  relations, 
but  this  is  no  more  likely  to  continue  in  China 
than  in  the  West,  The  change  came  in  the  West 
and  society  was  largely  unprepared,  with  con¬ 
sequences  that  we  are  just  now  trying  to  correct. 

As  their  life  now  appears,  what  have  the  Chi¬ 
nese  to  talk  and  think  about?  Little  more  than 
crops,  money,  and  general  gossip.  The  narrow¬ 
ness  of  interest  makes  thoughtful  social  life  im¬ 
possible;  the  comparison  with  certain  communi¬ 
ties  in  the  West  will  only  reveal  a  difference  in 
degree,  not  in  kind,  of  the  narrowness  of  interests. 
But  there  are  important  interests  enough  to  en¬ 
list  the  thought  and  activity  of  the  whole  com¬ 
munity  in  helpful  social  intercourse,  if  they  are 
utilized.  If  such  efforts  are  to  be  successful, 
they  must  find  something  which  all  may  do  to¬ 
gether  with  different  individual  reactions,  as 
working,  eating  or  playing.  There  are  commun¬ 
ity  needs  sufficient  to  furnish  abundant  material 
for  building  up  the  social  life  of  the  community, 
Christian  and  non-Christian  alike.  In  the  larger 
communities  it  is  necessary  to  avoid  unsocial 
group  specialization  and  class  distinction. 

In  the  United  States  the  public  schools  and 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  247 

colleges  are  doing  much  to  promote  democracy  in 
the  young  people  and  to  develop  in  their  parents 
common  interests.  The  schools  are  therefore  the 
most  promising  social  centers.  This  is  probably 
true  in  China;  the  distinction  between  rich  and 
poor  appears  much  more  clearly  in  the  churches 
than  in  the  schools.  It  is  difficult  to  get  the  rich 
to  come  to  the  churches,  not  always  because  they 
object  to  the  teaching  but  because  they  find  so 
few  of  their  own  class  there.  On  the  other  hand, 
in  the  schools,  where  the  students  are  friends 
regardless  of  financial  standing,  the  parents  are 
brought  together  in  public  gatherings  where  they 
become  acquainted  and  exchange  views.  The 
Christian  schools  need  to  profit  by  the  trend  in 
the  United  States  and  seek  to  minister  more 
directly  to  the  needs  and  interests  of  the  com¬ 
munity,  and  so  become  the  center  of  all  its  whole¬ 
some  social  activities.  By  so  doing,  the  school 
will  win  a  much  larger  support  and  co-operation 
from  the  Chinese.  Tins  requires  leaders  who 
know  intimately  the  life  of  the  people  and  who 
will  put  their  life  needs  before  sectarian  in¬ 
terests. 

On  the  mission  field,  the  relative  desirability 
of  the  Church  and  the  school,  as  social  centers 
of  the  community  life,  is  simpler  than  it  is  in  the 
United  States.  There  the  Church  and  the  Chris¬ 
tian  school  practically  stand  together.  It  is 


248  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


possible  for  them  to  work  together  very  effec¬ 
tively  for  the  community  welfare.  If  various  de¬ 
nominations  would  unite  in  the  larger  cities,  a 
more  effective  work  could  be  accomplished.  If 
the  church  ignores  the  demands  of  these  social 
instincts,  and  persisting  in  its  traditional  course, 
remains  ignorant  of  and  indifferent  to  them,  it 
will  lose,  first,  to  the  Christian  schools  as  com¬ 
munity  centers,  as  it  seems  to  be  doing  in  the 
United  States.  This  loss  on  the  mission  field 
will  not  be  serious  because  it  will  be  merely  a 
shifting  of  emphasis  and  change  of  method  in 
mission  policy.  The  second  and  more  serious 
danger  appears  in  the  possibility  that  Christian 
schools  will  imitate  the  attitude  of  the  Church, 
and  in  a  very  short  time  the  government  schools 
will  become  the  community  centers.  Some 
splendid  opportunities  to  contribute  directly  to 
the  “more  abundant  life”  of  the  Chinese  will, 
thus,  have  been  lost. 

Some  statements  regarding  the  actual  trend  in 
the  United  States  give  point,  again,  to  our  inter¬ 
pretation  of  the  social  needs  in  China. 

In  Montgomery  County,  Maryland,  it  was  found  that 
nearly  half  of  the  people  were  not  in  church ;  that  there 
was  a  church  to  every  two  hundred  and  forty  people; 
that  28  per  cent  of  the  churches  were  not  growing;  that 
29  per  cent  had  no  organization  except  Sunday  school; 
that  57  per  cent  had  no  organization  for  young  people; 
that  94  per  cent  had  no  organization  for  men;  and  that 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  249 


86  per  cent  were  making  no  effort  to  serve  their  com¬ 
munities  as  social  centers.  In  Ohio  it  was  found  that 
about  half  the  churches  with  resident  pastors  .  .  . 
were  growing.  ...  In  Indiana,  the  attendance  at 
church  service  .  .  .  was  a  little  over  one-fifth  the 
population  and  the  attendance  at  Sunday  school  was  a 
little  less.  Of  churches  giving  attention  to  social  and 
recreational  life  65  per  cent  were  growing,  while  of 
those  not  so  doing  only  12  per  cent  were  growing.  .  .  . 
It  appears  that  not  only  do  churches  that  make  a 
feature  of  social  life  prosper,  but  that  in  rural  places 
where  other  organizations  supply  that  need,  church 
interest  is  increased.  This  shows  the  close  relation  of 
social  to  religious  life,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that 
many  of  its  forms  are  believed  to  be  directly  opposed 
to  the  work  of  the  churches.  In  rural  communities 
the  church  and  the  school  are  the  chief  organizations 
supplying  social  life,  and  if  they  fail  there  is  little 
but  associations  of  individuals  and  families.114 

Honest,  careful  study  of  conditions  in  the  ma¬ 
jority  of  the  cities  of  the  United  States  would 
reveal  conditions  so  nearly  like  these  cited  that 
one  would  be  compelled  to  ask  what  are  the  real 
aims  and  values  in  the  methods  that  have  pro¬ 
duced  these  conditions.  If  they  have  failed  so 
seriously  in  a  Christian  civilization,  can  they  rea¬ 
sonably  be  expected  to  do  better  in  a  non-Chris¬ 
tian  civilization?  Do  these  aims,  methods  and 
ideals  represent  the  real  values  for  which  men 
and  women  are  giving  their  lives  in  China? 

Persistence  in  the  use  of  these  methods  in 
China  means  spiritual  death  to  many  Chinese 


250  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 

where  they  might  have  had  life ;  it  means  the  sur¬ 
render  of  the  social  instincts,  which  are  resources 
as  well  as  needs,  to  be  monopolized  and  ex¬ 
ploited  for  selfish,  commercial  ends,  by  non- 
Christian  or  anti-Christian  forces.  Is  there  suf¬ 
ficient  value  in  the  traditional  exclusiveness  and 
sanctity  of  the  Church  and  in  the  classical  sub¬ 
ject  matter  of  the  prevailing  curricula  to  pay  this 
price?  There  seems  to  be  occasion  for  some  in¬ 
trospection  on  the  part  of  the  leaders  of  churches 
and  schools  in  China  and  a  willingness  to  try 
some  new  methods,  when  the  results  of  the  old 
are  so  evidently  unsatisfactory.  Some  young 
Chinese  are  already  asking  how  long  it  will  be 
before  China  is  Christianized  at  the  present  rate 
of  growth.  And  already  the  Chinese  government 
schools  are  improving  in  usefulness  so  that  mis¬ 
sion  schools  are  finding  it  hard  to  keep  up  to 
their  standard. 


CHAPTER  XIV 


THE  NEEDS — MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS 

The  moral  and  religious  needs  of  the  Chinese 
are  based  on  the  considerations  involved  in  the 
preceding  study  of  the  bio-psychological,  eco¬ 
nomic,  protective,  recreative,  cultural,  and  social 
needs.  Further  search  for  abstract  moral  and 
religious  needs  is  unnecessary  until  those  grow¬ 
ing  out  of  the  actual  life  of  the  race  are  more 
adequately  met.  These  two  phases  of  spiritual 
experience  are  closely  related  to  each  other  and 
grow  out  of  the  feeling  that  man  needs  some  in¬ 
fluence  outside  himself  to  help  realize  his  better 
self ;  the  influence  of  other  members  of  his  group, 
living  and  dead,  constitute  the  moral  influences ; 
the  belief  that  the  “spirit  of  some  ancestor  or  a 
power  of  nature  or  a  deity  approves  or  disap¬ 
proves  of  certain  kinds  of  conduct,”  constitutes 
the  religious  influence.115  The  moral  and  reli¬ 
gious  activities  of  the  Chinese  may  be  easily  clas¬ 
sified  under  these  two  heads.  This  practical  basis 
of  morality  and  religion  reveals  their  true  func¬ 
tion  which  is  to  supply  the  spirituality  that  gives 

balance  to  life,  and  the  glowing  fire  of  idealism 

251 


252  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

that  will  enable  men  to  make  their  spiritual 
visions  become  realities  in  a  divine-human 
society. 

The  numerous  tributes  to  Chinese  moral 
standards  and  ideals,  which  have  come  in  in¬ 
creasing  number  in  recent  years  from  writers 
who  can  speak  with  authority,  make  it  seem  that 
the  time  has  come  to  acknowledge  that,  in  the 
essential  elements  of  morality,  the  Chinese  de¬ 
serve  favorable  comparison  with  the  Greek, 
Hebrew,  and  Christian  moral  standards  of  the 
West.  Such  writers  as  Legge,  Faber,  Giles,  and 
others  are  appreciative  of  these  values,  but  they 
seem  to  be  checking  themselves  constantly  lest 
they  give  the  impression  that  there  are  some 
ideals  and,  perhaps,  some  customs  that  are  as 
good  as  those  in  Western  civilization.  Dr.  Faber 
steps  aside  to  point  out  the  defect  in  Confucius* 
attitude  toward  concubinage  but  he  says  nothing 
about  Abraham,  Jacob,  and  David,  heroes  of  the 
Christian  religion.116  Bishop  Bashford  makes  a 
distinction  between  reliability  and  honesty  which 
is  fair,  so  far  as  definition  is  concerned.  He 
says: 

Probably  they  (the  Chinese)  furnish  as  many  people 
who  are  honest  from  principle  as  any  other  non-Chris¬ 
tian  country  and  as  most  so-called  Christian  nations. 
But,  in  the  main,  Chinese  reliability  in  commerce  has 
grown  up  from  centuries  of  experience  and  rests  upon 
sound  business  judgment.117 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  253 


He  also  points  out  the  religious  motive  for 
honesty  as  well.  In  spite  of  this  high  tribute, 
there  is  left  the  impression  that  Western  business 
men  are  on  a  higher  plane;  the  comparison  of 
ideals  suggests  a  distinction  without  a  difference, 
when  one  reads  from  an  economist  writing  of 
Western  business  men,  that  honesty  and  a  large 
credit  system  have  been  due  to  business  expe¬ 
diency  rather  than  to  moral  ideals.*  These 
mental  or  verbal  reservations  appear  in  almost 
all  writings  about  the  Chinese,  and  they  seem 
to  have  a  very  narrow  claim  to  consideration 
even  when  the  claim  is  true.  It  is  not  to  the 
point  to  define  superiority  and  inferiority  under 
such  circumstances,  but  to  find  the  remedy  for 
the  inferiority  in  both  civilizations. 

This  situation  presents  a  different  problem 
from  that  which  Christian  education  in  China 
is  supposed  to  face.  It  has  been  thought  that 
the  task  of  Christian  education  is  to  bring  new 
moral  and  religious  truth  to  China.  One  is 
forced  to  ask,  aJust  what  constitutes  that  new 
moral  truth?  How  shall  it  be  illustrated?  What 
is  the  exact  difference  between  the  new  Western 
truth  and  the  old  Chinese  truth  ?”  And  when 

*  See  Ross,  “Sin  and  Society”  and  “Changing  America,” 
for  a  courageous  painting  of  actual  moral  conditions  in  the 
United  States,  and  the  prefatory  letter  by  Theodore  Roose¬ 
velt.  Our  indictments  of  the  West  are  moderate  beside  the 
facts  given  in  these  two  books. 


254  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


one  starts  to  formulate  answers  to  these  ques¬ 
tions,  if  facts  are  faced  and  dealt  with  in  a  scien¬ 
tific  manner,  one  is  soon  forced  over  on  the  de¬ 
fensive  and  apologetic  side  of  the  argument. 

In  reality,  the  problem  is  to  vitalize  the  moral 
and  religious  truths  which  the  Chinese  possess; 
this  is  the  problem  in  the  West  as  well  as  in  the 
East.  Our  Western  morals  are  still  more  ab¬ 
stract  than  practical.  This  statement  does  not 
deny  that  Christianity  has  new  moral  and  re¬ 
ligious  ideals;  it  simply  seeks  to  avoid  spending 
its  energy  and  time  teaching  abstract  moral  and 
religious  truths  that  are  already  imbedded  in 
the  life  and  literature  of  the  Chinese  people,  and 
to  avoid  the  folly  and  self-conceit  of  doing  it  as 
though  we  were  bringing  entirely  new  ideas  from 
Western  civilization.  Such  a  frank,  democratic 
attitude  would  make  the  wTork  easier,  more  ac¬ 
ceptable  to  the  Chinese,  and,  consequently,  more 
effective,  on  the  safe  supposition  that  human 
nature  is  essentially  the  same  wherever  it  is 
found.  Frankly,  it  does  not  seem  possible  or 
necessary  to  bring  any  new  moral  truth  to  the 
Chinese;  it  does  seem  possible  to  vitalize  and 
reinterpret,  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  their  old  moral  truths  which  are  the 
common  possession  of  humanity  in  its  higher 
developments.  The  religious  conceptions  claim 
separate  consideration. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  255 

If  comparison  must  be  made,  if  invidious  dis¬ 
tinctions  must  be  drawn,  then  they  must  be  made 
between  Chinese  ideals  and  Christian  ideals,  and 
between  Chinese  moral,  religious,  and  social 
achievements  and  similar  actual  achievements  of 
so-called  Christian  nations ;  it  is  not  fair  to  judge 
Chinese  achievements  by  the  highest  Christian 
ideals,  and  ignore  the  failure  of  the  West  to 
achieve  those  ideals.  It  is  no  longer  possible 
to  deceive  ourselves  or  the  Chinese,  intentionally 
or  unintentionally.  Every  missionary  lias  been 
painfully  conscious  of  the  disparagement  be¬ 
tween  the  ideals  he  preaches  and  the  examples 
the  Chinese  have  had  in  Western  achievement 
of  those  ideals  in  their  relations  with  individuals 
and  nations.  The  Chinese  are  studying  other 
things  than  textbooks  when  they  go  to  America 
and  their  practical  common  sense  is  making 
them,  like  the  Japanese,  keen  seekers  of  the  real 
values.  Some  already  have  begun  to  judge  the 
achievements  of  the  West  by  Chinese  ideals;  we 
object  but  we  taught  them  the  lesson,  and  turn 
about  is  fair  play.  Only  smug  self-satisfaction, 
ignorance,  and  indifference  to  the  crying  needs 
of  Western  society,  can  claim  that  Western 
Christian  civilization  furnishes  a  satisfactory 
example  of  the  vitalization  and  genuine  applica¬ 
tion  of  these  universal  moral  truths. 

When  this  conclusion  is  reached  and  there  is, 


256  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

with  it,  the  belief  that  better  social  conditions  are 
possible  of  attainment,  then,  and  then  only,  is  it 
possible  for  the  Westerner  and  the  Chinese  to 
co-operate,  on  a  basis  of  mutual  confidence  and 
appreciation,  for  the  solution  of  the  problem  of 
vitalizing  these  moral  truths  and  applying  them 
so  as  to  meet  the  changing  needs  of  society.  Such 
a  conclusion  and  such  an  attitude  will  remove 
many  of  the  difficulties  that  now  make  it  im¬ 
possible  for  the  Chinese  and  the  foreigner  to 
work  together  without  more  or  less  friction,  and 
will  avoid  the  unfortunate  experience  of  Chris¬ 
tianity  in  Japan. 

It  is  not  possible  here  to  work  out  in  detail 
the  data  on  which  this  conclusion  is  reached  for 
it  is  based  on  many  volumes  of  translation  of 
Chinese  literature,  of  Chinese  history,  life,  and 
customs,  some  of  which  have  been  cited.  Some 
of  the  essential  data  should  be  presented  to  make 
clearer  the  judgment  just  reached  as  to  the  pres¬ 
ent  moral  needs  of  China. 

It  is  probably  fair  to  summarize  Hebrew  and 
Christian  ethics  under  the  requirements  of  the 
Ten  Commandments  and  Jesus’  re-interpretation 
and  application  of  them  to  social  conditions.  It 
is  understood  that  morals  have  to  do  with  the 
social  relations  of  man  with  man. 

“Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  that  thy 
days  may  be  long  in  the  land  which  Jehovah  thy 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  257 

God  givetli  thee.”  There  is  a  moral  demand  with 
an  utilitarian  appeal.  The  Chinese  have  devel¬ 
oped  in  a  high  degree  this  virtue  of  filial  piety; 
true  they  have  violated  and  abused  it,  but  Jesus 
openly  condemned  the  Jews  for  their  violation 
and  abuse  of  it  in  his  time.  The  Chinese  look 
with  apprehension  on  the  effect  of  Christian 
teaching  and  practice  in  relation  to  this  moral 
requirement  which  is  regarded  alike  by  Chinese 
and  Hebrews  as  the  basis  of  national  solidarity 
and  existence. 

The  Chinese  know  that  they  ought  not  to  kill. 
This  moral  precept  has  been  so  thoroughly  in¬ 
stilled  into  their  national  life  that  they  are  ridi¬ 
culed  by  certain  classes  of  Western  Christians 
because  they  lack  the  martial  spirit.  Homicide 
is  not  common;  it  is  hardly  necessary  to  inter¬ 
fere  in  a  Chinese  quarrel  because  it  is  reasonably 
sure  that  they  will  not  hurt  each  other  seriously. 
It  is  very  doubtful  if  China  has  lynched  3300 
within  22  years  as  against  2600  legally  executed, 
which  is  the  unenviable  record  of  the  United 
States;  sixty-nine  lynchings  in  1915  and  one  of 
those  for  stealing  meat;  sixty -four  in  1921,  five 
were  white  victims.  Even  when  martial  law  was 
established  during  the  recent  insurrection  in 
China,  the  civil  law  was  nominally,  and  in  some 
cases,  practically  superior  to  the  martial  law. 

What  can  be  more  evident  than  their  knowl- 


258  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


edge  and  high  esteem  of  the  commandment  that 
forbids  adultery?  Reference  has  already  been 
made  to  Bishop  Bashford’s  fine  tribute  to  the 
women  of  China ;  true,  there  is  a  double  standard 
for  the  two  sexes,  but  no  one  from  the  West  dares 
criticize  that  without  a  blush  of  shame.  Im¬ 
moral  women  were  compelled  to  wear  green  hand¬ 
kerchiefs  and  licentious  men  were  mutilated.118 
Shame  or  loss  of  “face”  are  strong  influences  for 
restraint  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  vices. 

The  Chinese  code  of  laws  covers  stealing,  false 
witness,  and  covetousness.  They  have  two  kinds 
of  law,  the  Li  and  the  Lu,  because  of  “their  de¬ 
sire  to  reconcile  abstract  and  ancient  law  with 
modern  justice.”  These  Chinese  legal  mottoes 
are  significant  of  their  ideals;  “If  the  law  does 
not  provide  a  remedy  for  injustice,  one  must  be 
found.”  “In  all  ages  a  person  has  been  con¬ 
sidered  more  important  than  property.”  Med- 
hurst  says,  “The  laws  of  China  are  numerous, 
minute  and  circumstantial,  and  give  the  best 
idea  of  the  people  and  their  advance  in  civiliza¬ 
tion  which  could  possibly  be  furnished.”  119  In 
regard  to  administration,  the  law  is  slow: 

The  golden  mean  lies  somewhere  between  the  attempt 
to  reach  the  national  ideal  of  exact  justice  upon  the 
one  side,  and,  upon  the  other,  promptness  and  certainty 
in  the  administration  of  the  laws.  Western  statesmen 
have  no  more  reached  this  golden  mean  than  have 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  259 


Chinese  statesmen;  and  possibly  Chinese  laws  are  not 
more  complex  than  is  Western  legislation.120 

It  may  still  be  insisted  it  is  only  the  West  that 
has  risen  to  a  spiritual  understanding  of  these 
moral  laws  such  as  Jesus  gave.  This  may  be 
granted,  but  when  Western  civilization  enters 
into  consideration,  it  must  be  remembered  that 
the  West  deserves  no  credit  for  the  origination 
of  this  interpretation,  and  it  is  still  a  long  way 
from  having  attained  these  ideals;  and  secondly, 
there  is  much  in  Chinese  moral  ideals  that  closely 
approximates  the  teachings  of  Jesus. 

“Except  your  righteousness  exceed  the  right¬ 
eousness  of  tlie  scribes  and  Pharisees”  is  an  em¬ 
phasis  which  appears  in  Lu-tze  (b.  1140  A.D.) 
when  he  opposed  the  critical  philosophical  erudi¬ 
tion  of  Chu-hsi  and  emphasized  the  rectification 
of  heart  and  life  as  the  chief  aim  of  study.121 
Confucius’  emphasis  on  peaceful,  friendly,  help¬ 
ful  relations  with  all  men  approximated  Jesus’ 
refinement  of  the  sixth  commandment.  Con¬ 
fucius  speaks  often  against  carnal  lust  and  sen¬ 
sual  pleasure ; 122  the  fact  that  it  is  very  bad  form 
to  stare  at  a  woman  or  turn  around  and  look 
at  her  after  she  has  passed  shows  their  knowledge 
of  the  sins  of  the  heart  and  mind  and  that  they 
recognize  the  evil  of  violating  the  seventh  com¬ 
mandment  in  thought  as  well  as  in  deed.  It  is 
a  well-known  fact  in  business  life  that  the  better 


260  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

class  of  Chinese  keep  their  promises  even  when 
it  means  great  personal  loss.  Grant  the  fine  dis¬ 
tinction  between  reliability  and  honesty  men: 
tioned  above,  the  wide  influence  of  Ben  Frank¬ 
lin’s  motto,  “Honesty  is  the  best  policy,”  on 
American  business  methods  must  also  be  granted. 

If  we  turn  to  love  as  the  supreme  Christian 
virtue  in  human  relation,  we  find  that  Mo-Ti 
(600-500  B.C.)  “in  some  measure  anticipates  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  love.”  123  His  idea  of  love 
was  altruistic  and  utilitarian;  it  was,  however, 
not  sufficiently  utilitarian  to  commend  itself 
strongly  to  the  practical  Chinese  at  that  time. 
Bishop  Bashford  emphasizes  the  utilitarian  mo¬ 
tive  when  he  credits  Mo-Ti  with  believing,  or 
at  least  arguing,  that  “Heaven  is  the  source  of 
love,  and  our  duty  on  earth  is  to  practice  uni¬ 
versal  benevolence”;  that  we  should  follow  in 
the  footsteps  of  the  sages  and  make  our  conduct 
pleasing  to  Heaven,  reverential  toward  the 
spirits,  and  benevolent  toward  the  people” ;  “that 
the  single  cause  of  all  wars  and  evils  is  selfishness. 
If  any  nation  will  love  every  other  nation,  and 
if  any  individual  will  love  his  neighbors,  they 
will  in  turn  love  and  help  that  nation  and  that 
individual”;  “condemns  concubinage  and  war”; 
“condemns  fatalism  as  the  enemy  of  energetic 
and  hopeful  action”;  “argues  for  the  existence 
of  a  supreme  God,  of  intelligence,  reason,  and 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  26 1 


love,  and  a  Divine  Providence  ruling  the  affairs 
of  men.”  “His  argument  for  theism  anticipates 
by  twenty-five  hundred  years  the  pragmatism  of 
William  James,”  and  yet  it  is  denied  that  Mo-Ti 
is  a  “profound  thinker  because  too  often  he 
makes  superficial  appeals  to  utility  instead  of 
sounding  the  depths  of  the  soul  or  of  appealing 
to  God.”  124  Furthermore,  the  place  of  utilitar¬ 
ianism  in  all  social  progress  is  by  no  means  a 
closed  or  tabooed  question ;  the  process  of  social¬ 
ization,  and  industrial  and  economic  evolution 
show  more  clearly  the  actual  influence  of  utili¬ 
tarianism  in  the  nominal  Christian  civilization 
of  the  West  than  does  the  New  Testament.  This 
is  no  argument  for  utilitarianism  but  a  plea  for 
fair  comparison  of  facts  in  order  to  find  a  com¬ 
mon  ground  for  constructive  effort  along  with 
the  Chinese.  One  must  ask  further,  “How  did 
Mo-Ti  get  his  conception  of  love  and  a  supreme 
God  if  it  were  not  the  witness  of  that  God  in 
his  heart?”  To  recognize  with  Paul  at  Lystra 
and  Athens,  that  God  revealed  himself  in  the 
experiences  of  such  men  as  Mo-Ti  is  not  to  deny 
nor  detract  from  the  revelations  that  came 
through  Jesus  Christ. 

The  ignorance  of  the  mass  of  Chinese  con¬ 
cerning  the  writings  of  Mo-Ti  opens  an  interest¬ 
ing  field  for  comparison  in  view  of  amazing  reve¬ 
lations  of  the  ignorance  o/  Western  people  of 


262  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

their  religious  classics  as  shown  by  recent  studies 
in  religious  education.  Professor  L.  B.  Paton 
says  that  he  “has  been  teaching  for  twenty  years 
in  a  theological  seminary,  and  has  observed  a 
progressive  deterioration  in  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  in  the  students  that  enter  each  year.” 
But,  further  discussion  is  not  to  the  point  here. 

Mo-Ti  is  placed  in  favorable  comparison  with 
Plato,  Aristotle  and  Socrates,  but  “we  know  no 
work  in  English  upon  him  or  his  philosophy.”  125 
Is  it  reasonable  to  suppose  that,  because  he  was 
discredited  by  the  brilliant  Mencius,  he  has  had 
no  influence  on  the  ideals  of  his  people?  Else¬ 
where  ideals  are  supposed  to  affect  conduct  and 
life. 

The  discussion  of  Mo-Ti  has  been  prolonged 
thus  far  to  show  that  we  have  come  to  the  time 
when  we  must  define  and  locate  the  exact  moral 
and  religious  values  which  Christian  education 
has  to  offer  to  China.  The  distinctly  new  field 
of  the  intellectual  and  the  philosophical  is  stead¬ 
ily'  narrowing  as  the  West  becomes  familiar  with 
Chinese  history  and  literature.  Since  the  field 
of  new  moral  and  religious  truths  is  circum¬ 
scribed,  we  ought  to  rejoice  that  the  field  of  ap¬ 
perceptive  moral  and  religious  truth  is  much 
larger  than  we  had  thought;  the  task  of  vitaliz¬ 
ing  this  truth  for  the  East  and  West  and  apply¬ 
ing  it  to  the  improvement  of  social  conditions, 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  263 


stands  out  more  clearly  as  the  first  moral  need 
to  be  met. 

This  line  of  comparison  seems  to  discredit 
Christianity;  it  only  discredits  the  Western  type 
of  Christianity  and  holds  a  mirror  to  show  us 
ourselves  as  others  in  the  East  are  rapidly  com¬ 
ing  to  see  us.  If  we  wish  to  hold  our  influence 
and  contribute  to  the  social  reconstruction  of 
China,  save  her  from  some  of  our  mistakes,  and 
enable  her  to  profit  by  our  successes,  we  must 
be  absolutely  honest  and  fair  and  lay  our  mo¬ 
tives,  aims  and  values  bare  to  the  searchlight  of 
modern  science.  We  need  have  no  fear  for  God’s 
own  truth ;  we  must  prepare  to  readjust  our  own 
estimates  of  the  values  of  His  truth  as  He  has 
revealed  it  to  the  human  race,  and  remember  that 
the  time  of  the  “chosen  nation”  is  past  in  a  world 
that  is  so  rapidly  moving  toward  democracy. 

Furthermore,  it  must  be  realized  that  we  are 
in  danger  of  wasting  valuable  energy  and  time 
carrying  moral  and  philosophic  if  not  religious, 
coals  to  a  Chinese  Newcastle.  A  study  of  these 
points  of  contact  between  Chinese  moral  ideals 
and  Christian  moral  ideals,  together  with  a  fair 
comparison  of  achievement,  is  a  subject  for  a 
large  volume  and  when  done — and  it  will  be 
done — will  furnish  a  valuable  basis  for  moral 
and  religious  education  in  Christian  schools  and 
Sunday  schools  if  properly  used.  The  tremen- 


264  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

dous  psychological  and  pedagogical  significance 
of  this  discovery  is  more  easily  apparent  today 
than  it  was  ten  years  ago.  Yet,  it  has  been  seen 
and  recognized  by  only  a  few;  others  have  seen 
and  recognized,  seeing  only  a  dangerous  com¬ 
petitor  instead  of  a  powerful  ally  for  the  re¬ 
demption  of  China;  others  have  dimly  suspected 
its  value  but  have  been  unable  to  familiarize 
themselves  with  these  vital  elements  of  the  Chi¬ 
nese,  so  busy  have  they  been  with  many  other 
things ;  still  others,  it  is  to  be  feared,  never  dream 
of  or  will  never  acknowledge  and  use  this  rich 
moral  and  racial  heritage  of  the  Chinese. 

When  we  become  too  closely  pressed  in  a  com¬ 
parison  of  the  moral  ideals  and  values  as  they 
appear  in  Chinese  life,  it  is  common  to  take  de¬ 
fense  in  the  field  of  religious  truth,  behind  the 
claim  of  our  superior  Western  idea  of  God.  We 
believe  we  are  safe  there.  We  point  to  China’s 
wonderful  discoveries  and  inventions  and  her 
failure  to  use  them  adequately;  we  point  to  her 
helpless,  childlike  condition  among  the  nations 
of  the  world  today  and  we  are  sure  that,  in  the 
West,  there  has  been  a  power  at  work  that  has 
been  absent  from  the  life  of  China.  Then  it  is 
discovered  that  there  are  some  ideas  of  a  su¬ 
preme,  intelligent,  reasonable,  loving  being  called 
Shang-ti  that  have  been  current  among  the  Chi¬ 
nese  for  centuries  very  like  our  idea  of  God ;  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  265 


high  monotheistic  conception  of  this  God  prob¬ 
ably  antedates  the  generally  accepted  time  of 
Abraham.  Polytheism  has  been  closely  inter¬ 
woven  with  these  monotheistic  ideas,  but  it  is  nec¬ 
essary  also  to  recall  the  struggle  that  the  Hebrew 
nation  had  with  polytheism  and  what  hard  ex¬ 
periences  were  necessary  to  teach  them  the  lesson, 
and  also,  that  it  is  still  necessary  to  warn  Chris¬ 
tians  against  trying  to  worship  God  and  Mam¬ 
mon.  Confucius  acknowledged  this  God  but 
claimed  to  know  little  or  nothing  about  Him  and 
concerned  himself  chiefly  about  the  affairs  of 
men. 

One  is  interested  to  know  just  how  far  this 
parallel  between  Chinese  and  Christian  ideas  of 
God  may  fairly  be  traced.  No  better  guide  pre¬ 
sents  itself  among  all  the  writers  on  Chinese 
religion  than  the  splendid  summary  by  Bishop 
Bashford.126  One  might  start  parallel  columns 
of  these  current  ideas  and  then,  by  cancellation 
of  duplicate  factors,  discover  exactly  what  con¬ 
stitutes  the  difference  and  our  own  superiority. 

Christianity  and  the  West  have  emphasized  the 
importance  of  the  future  life,  immortality ; 
“Taoism,  whatever  its  superstitions,  never  took 
its  eyes  off  the  future  life  and  the  eternal  world,” 
and  “had  the  insight  to  choose  as  its  founder  the 
profoundest  and  most  spiritual  philosopher  of  the 
Chinese  race,  Lao-tze.”  127  “Buddhism  .  .  .  too 


266  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

never  lost  sight  of  the  spiritual  and  eternal  in¬ 
terests  of  mankind,”  as  lias  been  frequently 
shown.  Buddhism  has  consciously  or  uncon¬ 
sciously  stood  for  religious  liberty.  “Confucian¬ 
ism  never  lost  its  vision  of  the  moral  duty  of 
man.  Like  the  law  of  the  Old  Testament,  it  yet 
serves  as  the  divine  preparation  for  the  coming 
of  the  gospel.”  128  Christianity  has  the  idea  that 
God  is  a  God  of  law  and  moral  order ;  the  Chinese 
have  had  the  same  idea  for  over  two  thousand 
years  and  have  been  in  a  “vague,  indefinite  and 
yet  continuous  struggle  toward  practical  ideal¬ 
ism.” 

In  the  clear  conception  of  moral  order  and  the  dim 
perception  of  a  supreme  governor  of  the  world,  the 
Chinese  catch  glimpses  of  the  first  commandment — the 
most  vital  conception  of  the  Jewish  people.  In  their 
almost  universal  belief  in  a  future  life  of  rewards  and 
punishments  based  on  conduct  in  the  present  life,  we 
have  recognition  of  a  fundamental  doctrine  of  the  New 
Testament.129 

Particularly  significant  is  their  attitude  to¬ 
ward  prayer.  When  interpreting  the  significance 
of  prayer  in  China,  we  must  remember  the  variety 
of  explanations  and  interpretations  of  prayer 
that  characterize  Western  thought  and  belief, 
also  the  probable  truth  that  nowhere  in  the  world 
is  there  so  little  praying  as  in  Christian  coun¬ 
tries.  The  Chinese  have  the  saying,  “Heaven  is 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  267 

only  three  feet  above  your  head” ;  the  farmer 
begins  his  planting  with  prayer  and  offering, 
the  boatmen  start  their  trips  and  pass  dangerous 
rapids  only  after  prayer  and  offerings;  all  the 
activities  of  life  are  related  to  more  or  less  elab¬ 
orate  services  of  prayer  and  offerings.  How 
many  people  in  the  West  think  of  beginning  these 
daily  activities  of  life  with  prayer?  For  how 
many  Western  people  is  the  consciousness  of  the 
spirit  world  brought  within  a  radius  of  three 
feet?  Of  course,  the  conception  of  the  deity  ad¬ 
dressed,  makes  a  great  difference  in  the  spiritual 
value  of  prayer;  the  difference  is  apparent  in 
the  images  before  wThich  prayers  are  offered  as 
compared  with  the  representations  by  which  the 
West  objectifies  its  ideas  of  God.  But  prayer  for 
rain  to  a  God  who  is  supposed  to  hear  and  an¬ 
swer  does  not  seem  to  be  essentially  different 
in  China  from  what  it  is  in  America. 

Confucius  says,  in  the  “Doctrine  of  the  Mean,” 
XIX  6,  “By  the  ceremonies  of  the  sacrifices  to 
Heaven  and  earth,  they  served  God  (Shang- 
ti) .”  130  Whatever  may  be  the  nature  of  this  God 
to  whom  they  prayed,  Faber  says  that,  in  the 
many  passages  in  the  ancient  classics  which 
mention  Shang-ti,  there  “is  nothing  at  all  that 
is  offensive  to  the  Christian  idea  of  God.”  131 

What  are  the  essential  differences  from  many 
a  Christian  prayer  in  this  following  prayer 


268  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


offered  by  the  Emperor  of  the  Ming  dynasty  at 
the  beautiful,  simple  Altar  of  Heaven,  in  1538 
A.D.? 

The  service  of  song  is  completed,  but  our  poor  sin¬ 
cerity  cannot  be  fully  expressed.  Thy  sovereign  good¬ 
ness  is  infinite.  As  a  potter  hast  Thou  made  all  living 
things.  Great  and  small  are  curtained  around  by  Thee 
from  harm.  As  graven  on  the  heart  of  Thy  poor  servant 
is  the  sense  of  Thy  goodness,  but  my  feeling  cannot 
be  fully  displayed.  With  great  kindness  Thou  dost  bear 
with  us,  and,  notwithstanding  our  demerits,  dost  grant 
us  life  and  prosperity.  .  .  .  Spirits  and  men  rejoice 
together  praising  Ti,  the  Lord.  What  limit,  what 
measure  can  there  be  while  we  celebrate  His  great 
name?  Forever  He  setteth  fast  the  high  heavens  and 
establisheth  the  solid  earth.  His  government  is  ever¬ 
lasting.  His  poor  servant,  I  bow  my  head  and  lay  it 
in  the  dust,  bathed  in  His  grace  and  glory.  .  .  .  All 
the  ends  of  the  earth  look  up  to  Him.  All  human 
beings,  all  things  on  the  earth  rejoice  together  in  the 
Great  Name.132 

Can  it  be  said  that  this  prayer  does  not  touch 
the  profoundest  depths  of  the  human  soul  or  that 
there  is  no  appeal  to  God?  Does  not  the  Chris¬ 
tian  spirit  respond  to  the  beauty  of  its  sentiment  ? 

Their  earnestness  and  sincerity  in  their  moral 
and  religious  beliefs  is  shown  in  frequent  self- 
sacrifice  by  suicide  for  causes  which  they  con¬ 
sider  moral  and  righteous,  and  also  in  the  fact 
that  they  have  spent  large  sums  of  money  and 
much  labor  in  building  temples  and  pagodas.  It 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHIN,.  269 


is  estimated  that  the  Chinese  spend  $300,000,000 
gold  annually  in  religious  worship. 

The  process  of  cancellation  might  be  continued 
but  it  has  gone  far  enough  to  show  that  the  field 
of  really  new  religious  ideas  and  truth,  like  the 
field  of  moral  truths,  is  very  small  and  difficult 
to  define.  It  has  brought  us  face  to  face  with 
some  vital  problems  of  religious  education  and 
to  a  definite  choice  of  values. 

If  the  moral  and  religious  truths  of  the  Old 
Testament  are  essentially  the  same  as  those 
found  in  the  Chinese  classics,  as  a  matter  of 
pedagogy  should  not  the  classics  be  used  to  teach 
these  universal  and  eternal  truths?  If  an  over¬ 
loaded  curriculum  makes  it  impossible  to  teach 
both,  and  train  the  students  in  the  practice  of 
the  truths,  it  would  seem  entirely  Christian  to 
emphasize  the  practice.  This  does  not  mean  that 
the  Old  Testament  should  not  be  taught.  It 
raises  a  question  of  relative  values  in  connection 
with  the  passages  used  and  the  time  spent  on 
the  Old  Testament  material. 

In  the  case  of  the  New  Testament,  the  question 
is  different.  Does  that  power  lie  in  the  verbal 
statements  of  truth,  much  of  which  the  Chinese 
have  already  approximated,  or  in  the  life  and 
personality  of  Jesus?  If  the  parallel  shifts  from 
ideas  and  symbols  to  life  and  personality,  we 
may  find  a  clearer  solution  to  the  problem  of 


270  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

cancellation  for  final  values.  After  all  compari¬ 
sons,  material,  physical,  mental  and  spiritual, 
are  made,  the  unique  and  essentially  different 
factor  and  value  is  the  life  and  personality  of 
Jesus  Christ. 

It  is  not  possible  to  deny  the  great  personali¬ 
ties  that  founded  Confucianism,  Buddhism,  and 
Taoism  and  still  sway  the  lives  of  more  millions 
of  people  than  does  the  personality  of  Jesus.  The 
difference  in  these  personalities  is  apparent,  not 
in  the  number  of  people  influenced,  but  in  the 
character  of  that  influence,  in  the  effect  that  the 
personality  has  had  on  the  persons  touched.  In 
those  societies  which  have  been  strongly  influ¬ 
enced  by  the  personality  of  Jesus,  in  spite  of  all 
violations  of  his  spirit  and  ideals,  the  mass  of 
people  have  interests  that  result  in  a  more  abun¬ 
dant  life  than  have  the  masses  in  these  other 
societies.  The  truth  of  this  statement  is  wit¬ 
nessed  by  the  eagerness  with  which  the  others 
are  reaching  out  after  this  abundant  life  and  the 
rapidity  with  which  they  are  appropriating  its 
interests. 

China’s  great  moral  and  religious  need  is  the 
powerful  personality  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  needs 
more  than  a  belief  in  that  personality;  it  needs 
the  vitalizing  power  of  his  life;  it  needs  his  un¬ 
derstanding  of  human  nature  and  faith  in  hu- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  271 

inanity,  his  vision  for  society,  and  his  conscious, 
direct  communion  with  God. 

Personality  is  most  powerful  in  social  con¬ 
tacts;  for  the  majority  of  people,  personal  in¬ 
fluence  is  stronger  than  the  printed  page;  the 
sermon  that  comes  from  a  life  that  we  have 
touched  is  more  powerful  than  one  from  a  per¬ 
sonality  that  we  have  never  touched,  other  things 
being  equal;  the  mystic  uses  many  devices  to 
make  Christ  real  to  himself  so  as  to  hold  social 
intercourse  with  him.  China  needs  the  personal¬ 
ity  of  Jesus  brought  to  her  through  social  con¬ 
tacts. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  Christian  mission¬ 
aries  are  working  by  this  method.  It  is  prob¬ 
able  that  the  most  potent  factor  in  bringing  the 
personality  of  Jesus  to  China  is  the  devoted,  self- 
sacrificing  spirit  of  service,  pure  lives,  and  strong 
religious  zeal  of  the  individual  missionaries.  The 
lives  they  live  rather  than  the  symbols  they  teach 
is  what  brings  to  the  Chinese  the  moral  and 
spiritual  power  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  not  to 
say  that  the  symbols,  doctrines,  and  ordinances 
have  no  place.  It  is  to  say  that  these  are  of 
secondary  value  in  the  redemption  of  China  and 
should  not  be  mistaken  for,  nor  stand  in  the  way 
of,  the  primary  value. 

If  it  is  true  that  the  personality  of  Jesus  is 


272  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

transmitted  chiefly  through  the  life  and  personal¬ 
ity  of  men,  then  China  needs  to  have  the  social 
contacts  multiplied.  It  is  not  enough  for  the 
preacher  to  touch  the  lives  of  his  people  in  the 
prepared  addresses  and  stated  lessons;  he  must 
touch  them  in  the  everyday  activities  of  life.  It 
is  not  enough  for  the  teacher  to  meet  the  students 
simply  in  his  class-room  and  study;  he  must 
enter  into  their  life-interests. 

The  only  objection  to  this  method  lies  in  the 
fact  that  the  pressure  of  the  kind  of  work  we 
are  doing  makes  it  almost  impossible  for  the 
preacher  or  teacher  to  have  the  more  direct  con¬ 
tacts  and  do  that  work  according  to  present 
requirements.  This  has  been  the  writer’s  per¬ 
sonal  experience  and  it  is  evident  in  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  others.  The  only  way  out  of  the 
dilemma,  it  seems,  is  to  make  a  very  radical 
change  of  valuation  and  emphasis  in  our  work; 
putting  first  things  first,  by  studying  to  enlarge 
the  social  contacts,  if  need  be  at  the  expense  of 
the  symbolic  and  doctrinal.  If  we  do  the  will 
of  God  as  revealed  in  Jesus’  social  relations  and 
thereby  inspire  them  to  do  it,  the  Chinese  will 
soon  learn  whether  the  doctrine  is  of  God  or  not, 
without  reference  to  theological  and  philosophi¬ 
cal  authorities  of  the  West.  It  is  a  plain,  frank 
choice  of  a  social  Christianity  along  with  the 
social  education.  This  does  not  mean  a  senti- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  273 


mental,  irrational,  non-religious  form  of  mis¬ 
sionary  activity. 

Religion  has  probably  been  the  greatest  force, 
for  good  or  evil,  in  the  development  of  the  human 
race.  It  is  an  essential  part  of  human  nature 
and  not  a  mere  adjunct,  whether  we  regard  it 
as  an  instinct  or  the  complex  result  of  various 
instincts.  Religious  sanctions  are  absolutely 
essential  to  a  full  view  of  life  and  to  permanent 
progress  and  social  welfare.  This  perspective 
must  not  be  lost  as  some  ardent  advocates  of 
social  service  and  ethical  culture  seem  to  have 
done  in  the  West. 

The  power  of  religion  does  not  lie  in  sentiment 
nor  in  creeds,  but  in  its  appeals  to  natural  in¬ 
stincts  and  emotions  and  in  its  ability  to  satisfy 
those  needs.  The  history  and  psychology  of  re- 
ligion  show  that  different  instincts  and  emotions 
have  been  appealed  to,  have  functioned  in  various 
moral  and  religious  beliefs  and  activities,  and 
then  have  lost  their  power.  It  has  been  stated 
that  these  instincts  have  been  chiefly  egoistic, 
with  a  steady  growth  of  the  altruistic  instincts, 
in  the  West.  If  Christianity  is  to  exert  its  proper 
influence  in  China,  it  must  appeal  to  the  proper 
instincts  and  emotions  and  must  be  directly  re¬ 
lated  to  the  everyday  life  of  the  people. 

It  is  fair  to  raise  the  question  whether  the 
Chinese  are  ready  for  the  direct  religious  appeal 


274  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

to  their  altruistic,  social  instinct.  There  are 
signs  of  selfishness  and  conditions  that  might  be 
be  presented  to  show  that  they  are  not  ready  for 
this  appeal,  but  there  seems  to  be  more  evidence 
to  show  that  they  are  ready  for  this  social  appeal 
to  the  altruistic  instinct ;  this  fact  must  be  taken 
as  evidence  also  that  God  has  been  working,  in 
his  own  way  according  to  definite  laws  of  life, 
to  prepare  them  for  this  appeal. 

It  has  been  a  source  of  wonder  to  some,  and 
perhaps  the  cause  of  a  little  envy,  that  the  Chi¬ 
nese  have  given  so  generously  to  some  institu¬ 
tions  and  particular  phases  of  the  work,  as  the 
Canton  Christian  College  and  the  Young  Men’s 
Christian  Association,  and  so  little  to  sectarian, 
doctrinal,  non-social  missionary  activities.  This 
fact  is  due,  not  to  the  stiff-necked  attitude  of  the 
Chinese  toward  Christian  truth,  but  to  the  fact 
that  the  appeal  which  moves  them  to  action  must 
be  genuinely  altruistic,  non-sectarian,  and  so¬ 
cially  constructive.  The  China  Christian  Con¬ 
ference,  May,  1922,  substantiates  this  opinion. 

The  probable  socializing  influence  of  the  past 
centuries  of  Chinese  development  has  already 
been  noticed.  If  it  is  possible  to  see  anything  of 
God’s  purpose  in  the  present  trend  of  world  in¬ 
ternational  relations,  we  may  believe  that  He 
has  brought  China  “to  the  Kingdom,”  prepared 
for  this  time.  Does  it  mean  nothing  that  within 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  27 5 

a  decade  China  and  Russia  have  burst  forth  into 
great  democracies?  Is  this  just  an  accident  or 
coincidence?  Greater  faith  may  see  in  it  the 
wise  plan  of  God  unfolding  in  a  natural  lawful 
manner,  and  may  learn  valuable  lessons  of  how 
He  really  performs  His  miracles. 

Democracies  are  not  cultivated  and  encouraged 
by  autocrats  and  aristocracies;  they  are  the  re¬ 
sult  of  a  powerful  social  instinct  that  comes  from 
within  the  heart  of  man  where  some  one  tells  us 
God  is.  They  are  not  even  produced  by  classical, 
cultural  education,  if  we  may  judge  by  the  illit¬ 
eracy  of  the  masses  of  China  and  Russia.  There 
is  no  longer  any  use  of  attributing  them  solely 
to  geography,  racial  characteristics,  economic 
conditions,  or  social  institutions,  though  these, 
all  together,  constitute  the  means  through  which 
God  works  out  the  destiny  of  the  race.  In  view 
of  this  great  consideration  it  seems  fair  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  the  legitimate,  rational  and  effective 
basis  of  moral  and  religious  appeal  in  China  to¬ 
day,  is  that  which  emphasizes  the  altruistic  and 
social  instincts.  This  is  entirely  different  from 
a  sentimental  appeal  for  good  works  based  on 
self-interest. 

Religious  control  of  society  has  been  frequently 
based  on  superstition,  vagueness,  other-worldli- 
ness,  and  has  been  split  by  schisms  and  conflicts 
that  deny  its  claim  to  abounding  rationality.  Un- 


276  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


til  recently,  this  has  affected  its  power  very  little. 
The  present  growth  of  education  as  a  means  of 
social  control  is  crowding  religion  into  the  back¬ 
ground  and  will  do  so  more  and  more,  with  loss 
to  society,  unless  scientific  education  is  spiritual¬ 
ized  and  its  religious  significance  made  plain,  and 
unless  religion  frankly  drops  its  superstitions 
and  vague  other-world  objective  and  seeks  God 
in  His  fulness  in  this  present  world.  The  im¬ 
portance  of  the  other  world  is  not  to  be  denied 
or  ignored,  but  as  the  race  fully  finds  God  here 
it  will  be  fully  prepared  to  dwell  with  Him  in 
the  other  world.  The  mechanical  and  material 
forms  of  nature  studied  and  interpreted  by  biol¬ 
ogists,  psychologists,  physiologists,  economists, 
geographers,  anthropologists  and  sociologists 
have  their  place.  We  have  ignored  them  too  long 
in  an  over-emphasis  of  what  we  have  called  spir¬ 
itual  forces,  but  mechanism  and  determinism 
begin  and  end  in  themselves  and  offer  nothing 
of  inspiration.  Chemistry,  environment,  hered¬ 
ity  cannot  satisfactorily  account  for  the  variants 
who  have  produced  by  their  personality  some  of 
the  greatest  forward  movements  of  the  human 
race.  But  these  factors  have  spiritual  implica¬ 
tions  and  the  Chinese  need  now  their  spiritual 
interpretations.  China  is  just  learning  about 
them  and  takes  hold  of  these  subjects  with  the 
keenest  interest.  If  she  is  to  be  saved  from  the 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  277 


atheism  and  skepticism  of  Japan,  and  even  of 
the  West,  she  must  be  given  this  new  scientific 
truth  with  a  definite  consciousness  of  its  spir¬ 
itual  significance  and  encouragement  to  dis¬ 
cover  its  spiritual  values.  The  social  interpre¬ 
tation  of  Christianity  must  be  rational,  as  exact 
as  modern  education  can  make  it,  and  positively 
and  constructively  religious  in  the  sense  of  better 
adjusting  the  race  to  those  spiritual  forces  of 
the  universe  which  the  Chinese  have  called 
Shang-ti  and  the  West  calls  God. 

Can  we  not  stir  the  highest  human  emotions 
and  the  social  instincts  as  powerfully  by  the 
truth  that  God  has  revealed  to  us  in  biology, 
chemistry,  psychology,  anthropology,  sociology, 
economics  and  related  sciences,  as  by  half-truths, 
metaphysics,  old  ceremonies  and  antiquated 
human  philosophies,  some  of  which  are  abso¬ 
lutely  false  in  the  light  of  modern  knowledge? 
The  West  was  unprepared  to  adjust  accepted  re¬ 
ligious  beliefs  to  the  discoveries  of  science  from 
Galileo  to  Spencer  and  Huxley;  China  has  her 
own  antiquated  religious  beliefs  and  customs  to 
struggle  with,  and  we  shall  do  well  if  we  do  not 
bring  to  her  any  outgrown  Western  beliefs  which 
men  have  attached  to  the  gospel  of  Jesus. 

The  Christian  leaders  of  the  West  know  only 
too  well  the  moral  and  religious  shipwreck  of 
many  lives  that  has  come  from  this  lack  of  proper 


278  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

adjustment,  and  this  same  adjustment  is  an 
essential  element  in  China’s  great  task  of  vitaliz¬ 
ing  and  applying  these  eternal  truths  to  the 
changing  conditions.  Can  nothing  be  done  in 
China  to  escape  this  disaster  and  waste? 

What  has  Christian  education  actually  ac¬ 
complished  in  this  task  as  outlined?  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  very  dimly  conscious  of  the 
task;  the  chief  objective  is  to  reproduce  in 
China  what  has  been  done  in  the  West,  as  the 
highest  possible  achievement.  But  every  Chris¬ 
tian  educator  is  more  or  less  conscious  of  his 
inability  to  touch  the  lives  of  his  students  as  he 
would  like  to  do.  Many  Christian  teachers  rec¬ 
ognize  the  discrepancy  and  conflict  between  the 
doctrinal  statement  of  Christianity  which  they 
are  accustomed  to  give  and  the  scientific  truth 
their  students  are  getting  in  their  own  class¬ 
room  or  in  those  of  other  teachers. 

There  have  been  few  great  Christian  leaders 
from  among  the  Chinese.  Many  missionaries 
complain  that  their  communicants  are  not  spir¬ 
itually  or  mentally  fit  to  be  trained  in  theological 
seminaries  for  leadership,  yet  they  also  complain 
of  the  great  need  for  native  leaders  in  the  Chris¬ 
tian  church.  Is  there  no  explanation  of  this 
condition  to  be  found  in  the  preceding  considera¬ 
tions?  They  may  not  be  easy  to  face,  but  there 
are  facts  that  seem  to  point  out  fundamental 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  279 

difficulties.  Why  is  it  that,  after  one  hundred 
years  of  Christian  preaching  and  indoctrination, 
there  is  almost  no  missionary  spirit  in  the  Chi¬ 
nese  church  and  we  are  striving  to  cultivate  it 
by  various  mechanical  devices?  Is  it  not  reason¬ 
able  to  believe  that  the  individualistic,  egoistic, 
and  group  appeal  has  been,  and  is,  by  God’s  pur¬ 
pose  and  work,  an  anachronism  in  China  after 
the  centuries  of  its  own  process  of  socialization? 
We  have  reason  to  believe  that  there  was  a  social 
emphasis  in  the  personal  contacts,  undeveloped 
doctrinal  systems,  and  social  conditions  of  the 
apostolic  period  of  Western  Christianity  that 
produced  the  wonderful  missionary  spirit  of 
those  early  believers ;  this  emphasis  has  been  lost 
in  later  centuries  of  missionary  activity  and  the 
difference  accounts  for  these  vexed  problems  of 
self-support  and  self-propagation?  The  strength 
and  weakness  of  Christian  education  in  dealing 
with  vital  social  conditions  have  been  discussed 
in  the  chapters  devoted  to  these  various  life- 
needs.  These  are  some  of  the  facts  and  problems 
before  us.  They  are  so  urgent  and  fundamental 
that  we  should  take  time  to  consider  and  esti¬ 
mate  what  and  where  are  the  real  moral  and 
religious  values  of  our  missionary  activity. 

China  needs  to  be  taught  to  see  sin  and  vice 
in  all  its  manifestations,  to  report  it  and  deal 
with  it  effectively.  China  needs  the  influence  of 


280  NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA 


the  divine  personality  of  Jesus  Christ  in  every 
phase  of  her  national  life,  not  simply  in  books, 
doctrine  and  intellectual  belief.  These  latter 
factors  are  only  means,  not  an  end,  and  will  be 
effective  and  valuable  only  as  they  touch  and 
minister  to  the  fundamental  instinctive  needs  of 
the  Chinese  race  in  its  relation  to  the  entire 
human  family.  China  needs  life,  the  throbbing, 
abundant  life  which  Jesus  came  to  give  to  the 
whole  human  race. 


CHAPTER  XV 


china’s  educational  task 

Popular  education  for  400,000,000  people — 
100,000,000  of  school  age — as  proposed  by  the 
Chinese  republic,  is  the  greatest  educational  un¬ 
dertaking  in  the  history  of  the  human  race.  The 
United  States  held  the  first  place  in  school  pop¬ 
ulation  and  in  the  scope  and  democratic  freedom 
of  popular  education.  When  the  Chinese  repub¬ 
lic  promulgated  its  educational  program  in  1912 
for  its  vast  territory  and  population,  the  United 
States  fell  into  second  place.  China  sees  the  task 
with  remarkable  clearness.  Her  leaders  have 
shown  fine  judgment  and  discrimination  in  the 
modern  program  they  have  laid  down.  Theo¬ 
retically,  at  least,  the  Ministry  of  National  Edu¬ 
cation  is  as  important  as  the  Ministry  of  Agri¬ 
culture  or  War.  Serious  consideration  has  been 
given  to  the  problem  of  co-ordinating  the  national 
and  local  educational  activities.  In  spite  of  the 
political  disorders,  representatives  of  the  dif¬ 
ferent  sections  met  at  Canton  in  November  1921, 
to  modify  the  original  program  so  as  to  secure 
better  social  results  in  pre-vocational  and  voca¬ 
tional  training. 


281 


282  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


China’s  educational  task  is  fascinating  and 
inspiring.  The  program  is  filled  with  tremen¬ 
dous  possibilities  for  China  and  for  the  other 
nations.  Germany’s  exhibition  of  the  possibili¬ 
ties  in  a  scientific  national  education  is  very 
significant.  Japan’s  achievements  within  a 
period  of  fifty  years  give  a  basis  for  estimating 
China’s  probable  achievements  during  this  cen¬ 
tury.  China  has  thrown  the  wealth  of  her  own 
classic  civilization  into  the  melting  pot,  together 
with  the  best  and  the  worst  of  Western  civiliza¬ 
tions.  She  has  shown  a  wonderful  faith  in  the 
final  survival  of  that  which  is  true.  China’s 
willingness  to  sacrifice,  if  need  be,  all  her  best 
intellectual  and  social  achievements  for  vital 
truth,  furnishes  an  example  for  Western  nations 
that  is  worthy  of  more  than  passing  attention. 
The  history  of  the  human  race  has  some  wonder¬ 
ful  spectacles  in  the  merging  of  great  civiliza¬ 
tions  of  the  past,  but  not  one  equals  China’s 
educational  venture,  in  the  contrasting  extremes 
of  intellectual,  social,  and  economic  achievement, 
in  the  complexity  of  material  and  spiritual  forces, 
and  in  the  magnitude  of  territory  and  popula¬ 
tion  involved. 

In  terms  of  ordinary  public  school  administra¬ 
tion,  conservative  estimates,  on  the  basis  of  the 
educational  reports  of  Western  nations,  give 
figures  that  are  not  easily  grasped  in  their  full 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  283 


significance.  There  is  a  school  population  be¬ 
tween  the  ages  of  five  and  twenty  of  100,000,000 
approximately — almost  equal  to  the  entire  popu¬ 
lation  of  the  United  States — and  only  5,000,000 
are  now  enrolled;  of  the  total  enrollment,  only 
200,000  are  girls.  With  the  generous  average  of 
forty  pupils  to  the  teacher,  2,500,000  teachers  are 
needed;  China  has  only  300,000,  with  30,000  in 
normal  training  schools.  150,000  schools  are 
now  providing  for  5,000,000  pupils ;  on  this  basis 
3,750,000  schools  are  needed.  The  United  States 
spends  approximately  thirty-five  dollars  a  year 
for  each  pupil.  Japan  spends  about  ten  yen  a 
year  for  each  pupil.  China  has  been  spending 
about  ten  Mexican  dollars  a  year  for  each  en¬ 
rolled  pupil  which  calls  for  an  annual  expendi¬ 
ture  of  |1,000,000,000  (Mexican)  for  education. 
With  a  school  population  of  33,000,000  and  only 
21,000,000  enrolled,  the  United  States  is  suffering 
from  over-crowded  schools;  the  tax-payers  com¬ 
plain  of  the  new  demands  for  increased  expendi¬ 
tures  for  education.  In  the  face  of  political  con¬ 
fusion,  limited  funds,  the  opposition  of  the  tra¬ 
ditionalists  and  other  discouragements  the  edu¬ 
cational  leaders  of  China  are  to  be  commended 
for  their  faith  and  courage. 

The  particular  educational  problems  that  fall 
within  the  range  of  China’s  task  are  intensely 
interesting  and  stimulating  to  the  imagination. 


284  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

The  outstanding  problem  is  that  of  working  out 
a  system  of  education  that  will  function  effec¬ 
tively  in  the  social  process  of  changing  from  an 
autocracy  to' a  democracy.  Only  an  educational 
system  that  is  thoroughly  socialized  in  subject 
matter,  methods  of  teaching,  and  method  of  ad¬ 
ministration  will  meet  the  need.  Out  of  this 
main  problem  there  arise  a  host  of  problems  of 
vital  importance. 

China  will  need  to  continue  sending  educa¬ 
tional  experts  to  study  at  first  hand  education 
in  other  countries.  China  took  over  Japanese 
adaptation  of  Western  education  with  consider¬ 
able  success,  when  their  international  relations 
were  more  cordial  than  they  are  at  present.  This 
short  cut  is  unsatisfactory  for  two  important 
reasons.  Japan  is  still  an  autocracy  and  differs 
radically  from  China  in  its  educational  needs. 
Features  that  are  adapted  from  the  Western  na¬ 
tions  are  liable  to  be  out  of  date  by  the  time  they 
get  to  China.  A  Chinese  teacher  of  education, 
trained  in  a  Japanese  normal  school  fifteen  years 
ago,  emphasizes  an  Herbartian  philosophy  and 
misses  the  present  social  emphasis.  There  is  an 
increasing  number  of  young  men  who  have 
specialized  in  modern  scientific  education  and  are 
qualified  to  make  the  Chinese  adaptation  from 
Japan  and  the  West. 

The  training  of  teachers  comes  next  in  order 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  28 5 


of  importance.  Japan’s  high  standard  for  all 
teachers  furnishes  a  good  example.  China  has 
made  a  promising  start  with  the  lower  and  higher 
normal  schools  and  the  new  Teachers’  College 
at  Nanking.  It  is  not  easy  to  train  teachers 
along  the  lines  of  social  and  scientific  education 
in  an  atmosphere  that  is  so  strongly  classic. 
The  best  methods  become  wooden  and  ineffective 
wrhen  they  are  introduced  as  a  compromise  be¬ 
tween  the  classic  and  social  types  of  education. 
Eternal  vigilance  will  be  the  price  of  China’s 
educational  liberty.  A  wholesome  professional 
spirit,  a  pride  in  the  achievement  of  satisfactory 
results,  a  real  joy  in  the  service  they  are  ren¬ 
dering  to  their  own  country  and  people,  will 
greatly  increase  the  effectiveness  of  the  govern¬ 
ment  education.  The  traditional  requirement  of 
high  moral  character  in  the  teacher  should  prove 
an  asset  in  the  training  of  teachers. 

The  problem  of  correlating  the  interests  and 
activities  of  the  schools  and  the  communities  is 
of  vital  interest  to  the  Chinese.  Out  of  this 
grow  the  questions  of  correlating  the  elementary 
and  secondary  schools,  pre- vocational  and  voca¬ 
tional  training,  co-operation  between  the  schools 
and  the  community  activities  so  as  to  avoid 
rivalry  and  secure  mutual  benefit,  night  schools 
for  adults,  reading  clubs  and  lectures. 

The  proposed  balance  between  a  national  or 


286  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

centralized  system,  and  decentralized  or  pro¬ 
vincial  systems,  will  constitute  a  delicate  but 
important  problem  to  be  worked  out.  Local 
initiative  and  enthusiastic  support  are  essential 
to  the  success  of  this  great  undertaking.  Much 
freedom  must  be  given  local  administrators. 
Economy  and  the  rapid  working  out  of  the  na¬ 
tional  program  require  an  effective  central  or¬ 
ganization.  Germany  and  the  United  States 
illustrate  these  two  extremes  of  policy  in  ad¬ 
ministration  of  national  education ;  there  is  room 
in  both  for  improvement,  China  will  do  well  to 
choose  a  middle  ground  in  her  administrative 
policy.  The  large  extent  of  territory  and  diverse 
local  interests  will  tend  toward  decentralization. 
Old  traditions  and  habits  will  favor  centraliza¬ 
tion.  The  people  should  get  away  from  the  habit 
of  looking  to  a  few  rich  men  or  the  provincial  and 
national  treasuries  for  funds.  They  should  come 
to  feel  that  the  schools  are  their  own  and  that 
the  support  of  these  schools  is  a  privilege  and 
responsibility,  not  a  burden.  China  is  not  yet 
so  far  removed  from  autocracy  that  the  liberty 
of  the  masses  will  be  entirely  safe  with  a  stand¬ 
ardized  system  of  national  culture.  European 
education  offers  no  attractive  examples  for  the 
young  Chinese  republic  though  they  furnish 
some  valuable  suggestions. 

Popular  education  depends  on  a  considerable 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  287 

modification  of  the  written  and  spoken  language. 
The  present  language  of  literature  and  philos¬ 
ophy  for  the  few  must  become  more  flexible,  more 
exact,  and  more  easily  acquired.  The  new  pho¬ 
netic  system  is  only  a  beginning  but  is  an  en¬ 
couraging  step  in  advance.  The  experience  of 
Western  nations  in  the  recognition  and  develop¬ 
ment  of  the  vernacular  as  a  legitimate  field  of 
education  should  be  useful  to  China  now. 

China  need  not  experiment  with  successive 
emphasis  on  subject  matter,  method,  teacher,  and, 
finally,  on  the  pupil,  as  has  been  done  in  the 
West.  A  suitable  balance  between  these  factors 
in  education  is  sought  in  her  present  program 
but  there  are  serious  difficulties.  After  the  long 
period  of  socialization  that  has  submerged  the 
individual,  it  will  not  be  easy  to  keep  the  needs 
of  the  pupil  in  proper  perspective.  Tradition¬ 
ally,  the  teacher  has  held  a  position  of  great 
importance  as  compared  with  method  or  pupil. 
There  is  a  mass  of  subject  matter  demanding 
attention.  A  satisfactory  adjustment  of  em¬ 
phasis  between  these  elements  of  the  educative 
process  will  prove  to  be  a  complex  problem. 

Scientific  education  has  found  the  earlier 
methods  of  measuring  mental  achievement  quite 
unsatisfactory.  China,  in  1905,  discarded  the  old 
examination  methods  and  substituted  the  West¬ 
ern  methods.  The  need  of  more  accurate  methods 


2 88  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

of  measurement  lias  still  been  apparent.  Ex¬ 
periment  with  and  adaptation  of  the  intelligence 
and  educational  standard  measurements  that 
have  been  developed  in  the  West,  have  been  use¬ 
ful.  It  is  evident,  however,  that  the  intelligence 
standards  will  need  to  be  based  on  Chinese  ma¬ 
terial  and  contain  more  objective  tests  than  have 
been  used  in  Western  research.  The  educational 
tests  involve  some  problems  that  are  not  covered 
by  the  popular  Western  standards. 

In  this  greatest  national  program  of  educa¬ 
tion  in  the  history  of  the  human  race,  Christian 
education  has  an  opportunity  to  take  an  impor¬ 
tant  part.  It  will  probably  never  enroll  annually 
more  than  five  per  cent,  of  the  student  popula¬ 
tion.  It  will  provide  only  a  small  number  of 
the  two  and  one-half  million  teachers  needed.  It 
will  supply  a  small  share  of  the  billion  dollar 
annual  budget.  These  facts  will  not  seriously 
affect  the  influence  of  Christian  education  if  its 
contribution  is  properly  adapted  to  the  needs  of 
the  Chinese  and  is  of  the  best  quality.  To  dis¬ 
cover  and  vitalize  the  Chinese  intellectual  and 
social  resources,  to  offer  such  social  experiences 
from  the  West  as  may  be  useful,  to  help  adjust 
the  growing  national  consciousness  to  the  re¬ 
quirements  and  possibilities  of  a  new  era  in  in¬ 
ternational  relations,  this  is  the  part  that  Chris- 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  289 

tian  education  may  have  in  China's  educational 
program. 

The  majority  of  the  Christian  schools  in  China 
are  supported  by  American  societies.  American 
ideals  and  standards  will  strongly  influence  the 
character  of  Christian  education.  It  is  fortunate 
that  this  influence  comes  from  a  people  that  has 
already  experimented  with  democracy  on  a  large 
scale  and  with  sufficient  success  to  give  faith  in 
the  principle,  in  spite  of  evident  weaknesses.  It 
is  surprising  that  American  schools  have  so 
strongly  emphasized  class  education,  without 
seeing  its  social,  economic  and  moral  bearing.  It 
is  encouraging  that  the  mistake  has  been  recog¬ 
nized  and  that  effort  is  being  made  to  correct 
it  in  America  and  in  China. 

Missionaries  who  expect  to  go  into  educational 
work  should  have  at  least  one  year  of  special 
work  in  educational  theory  and  practice  in  a 
teachers'  college  of  recognized  standing  before  go¬ 
ing  to  the  field.  Two  years  should  be  given,  if  pre¬ 
vious  under-graduate  study  has  not  included  some 
introduction  to  modern  educational  problems. 

Missionaries  who  are  engaged  in  educational 
work  need  to  have  access  to  the  periodicals  and 
the  latest  books  on  education.  The  Chinese  are 
more  or  less  pointedly  suggesting  that  Christian 
teachers  and  administrators  use  their  furlough 


290  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

time  to  become  familiar  with  the  latest  and  best 
in  educational  changes  in  the  West.  An  in¬ 
creasing  number  of  returned  Chinese  students 
are  more  familiar  with  the  trend  of  modern 
scientific  education  in  the  United  States  than 
are  many  Americans  in  charge  of  Christian 
schools.  If  such  young  Chinese  are  to  be  happy 
and  useful  in  Christian  education,  the  mission¬ 
ary  educationists  must  become  possessors  of  the 
same  general  ideas.  Pointing  to  the  deplorably 
low  percentage  of  trained  teachers  in  the  United 
States  will  not  save  the  situation  in  China. 
Japan  claims  a  much  higher  percentage  of 
trained  teachers  than  does  the  United  States 
and  insists  on  more  years  of  training. 

Not  only  is  there  urgent  need  for  better  trained 
missionary  teachers  but  there  is  great  need  of 
a  Christian  teachers’  college,  for  research  and  ex¬ 
periment  in  the  whole  field  of  education  and 
for  training  Chinese  teachers  in  their  own  en¬ 
vironment.  Emphasis  on  socialized  types  of  edu¬ 
cation  requires  constant  study  of  the  changing 
social  conditions.  A  school  for  research  in  social 
science  should  be  closely  connected  with  the 
school  of  educational  research  and  experiment. 
These  two  institutions  will  be  of  real  value  to 
China  in  proportion  as  they  co-operate  closely 
with  similar  work  conducted  by  the  government. 
Normal  schools  or  normal  departments  may  be 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  291 


needed  in  some  important  centers  but  they  should 
be  correlated  with  the  main  college  of  education. 

In  some  localities,  there  is  already  a  consider¬ 
able  degree  of  co-operation  between  Chinese  and 
missionary  educational  leaders.  This  might  be 
made  more  effective  by  the  organization  of  a 
society  for  educational  research  among  Chris¬ 
tian  educationists,  to  co-operate  with  the  Chi¬ 
nese  organizations.  Individual  and  local  re¬ 
search  will  need  to  be  encouraged  in  order  to 
establish  necessary  extension  work  outside  of 
the  teachers’  college  and  normal  schools.  This 
kind  of  work  will  introduce  many  pertinent  and 
interesting  problems  in  education  that  are  now 
overlooked.  Mission  schools  should  be  specially 
useful  for  research  in  the  teaching  of  English 
and  in  formulating  standards  and  in  recommend¬ 
ing  special  methods  and  devices.  Some  good 
beginnings  have  been  made. 

A  model  system  of  education,  complete  from 
kindergarten  up  through  higher  and  some  phases 
of  technical  education,  limited  but  effective  in 
its  full  capacity,  serving  as  an  ideal  and  an 
object  lesson,  will  save  Christian  education  from 
competing  with  the  government  system  and  will 
make  it  possible  for  the  Christian  system,  even¬ 
tually,  to  merge  into  China’s  great  educational 
system. 

In  the  field  of  religious  education  mission 


292  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

schools  have  a  unique  opportunity.  The  Chinese 
will  not  lose  sight  of  the  importance  of  teaching 
practical  ethics.  Their  present  methods  have 
something  to  commend  them,  but,  like  all  text¬ 
book  and  lecture  methods  of  teaching  morals  they 
fail  to  motivate  conduct  and  actually  to  form 
correct  habits  of  behavior.  Chinese  education 
will  surely  note  the  result  of  these  methods  and 
the  growing  consciousness,  in  the  United  States, 
at  least,  that  religion  has  an  important  place  in 
national  education,  even  if  that  place  is  not  yet 
clearly  defined.  They  recognize  the  importance 
of  the  principle  of  religious  liberty  and  they  may 
find  it  difficult  to  correlate  religion  with  popular 
education.  Christian  education  may  work  out 
a  well-rounded,  practical  religious  training  that 
will  win  the  appreciation  and  the  confidence  of 
the  Chinese  people.  The  psychological,  peda¬ 
gogical  and  social  principles  underlying  re¬ 
ligious  and  general  education  are  identical. 

Religion  is,  or  should  be,  a  vital  factor  in 
every  experience  of  life.  It  works  according  to 
definite  laws  of  mental  reaction.  Many  of  these 
laws  are  known  to  educational  and  social  psy¬ 
chology.  The  application  of  these  laws  in  the 
selection  and  presentation  of  the  subject  matter 
will  greatly  improve  the  present  religious  in¬ 
struction  in  mission  schools.  In  this  connection, 
Christianity  has  its  greatest  opportunity  to 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  293 


demonstrate  its  value  as  a  purifying  and  vitaliz¬ 
ing  social  force.  The  more  closely  this  work  is 
related  to  the  general  training  of  teachers,  the 
more  effective  it  will  be.  The  situation  in  Chris¬ 
tian  schools  in  China,  at  present,  differs  from 
public  schools  in  the  West,  since  all  the  teachers 
are  more  or  less  responsible  for  religious  instruc¬ 
tion  in  the  mission  schools. 

The  present  staff  and  equipment  of  Christian 
schools,  perhaps  without  a  single  exception,  are 
inadequate  to  carry  on  the  quality  of  work  that 
the  Chinese  are  seeking.  They  are  providing 
this  quality  themselves  as  rapidly  as  can  be  ex¬ 
pected  with  the  unsettled  political  and  economic 
conditions,  but  they  have  only  made  a  beginning 
on  their  tremendous  task  of  popular  education 
for  the  nation. 

Just  what  method  the  various  denominations 
will  adopt  to  save  Christian  education  in  China 
remains  to  be  seen.  The  practical  solution  in  the 
face  of  financial  inability  is  more  effective  co¬ 
operation  among  denominations  and  with  the 
Chinese.  The  great  opportunity  for  mission 
schools  will  soon  be  lost,  unless  some  strenuous 
and  effective  measures  are  taken  in  the  admin¬ 
istration  of  Christian  education.  If  the  neces¬ 
sary  changes  are  made  in  its  aim  and  method  of 
administration,  Christian  education  doubtless 
still  has  before  it  a  long  period  of  usefulness. 


CHAPTER  XVI 


china’s  distinctive  contributions  to  racial 

DEVELOPMENT 

The  most  effective  ideal  that  Christianity  has 
to  hold  before  the  world  in  its  new  relations  is 
the  ideal  of  a  perfect  human  society,  conscious 
of  its  vital  connection  with  all  the  spiritual  forces 
of  the  universe — the  Kingdom  of  God  on  the 
earth.  In  and  through  this  perfect  society,  the 
individual  may  become  perfect,  as  his  Heavenly 
Father  is  perfect,  in  whatever  meaning  Jesus 
gave  that  exhortation  or  promise.  The  function 
of  religion  is  to  present  this  ideal  and  furnish 
this  inspiration. 

There  are  two  elements  that  will  enable  the 
world  to  meet  successfully  the  changing  needs 
of  this  new  era  of  human  relationships :  First, 
the  personality  of  Jesus  expressed  in  a  social 
Christianity;  and  second,  the  developing  altru¬ 
istic  or  social  instinct  expressed  in  a  social  edu¬ 
cation. 

The  altruistic  instinct  as  a  motive  force  in 

Christian  activity  was  discussed  particularly 

from  the  standpoint  of  the  educator  and  the  mis- 

294 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  295 


sionary,  but  it  has  also  been  made  clear  that 
probably  the  time  has  come  when  the  altruistic 
or  social  instinct  of  the  Chinese  is  to  be  the 
motive  force  in  Christian  education  in  China. 

The  function,  criteria,  and  characteristics  of 
the  educational  aim,  together  with  the  compara¬ 
tive  study  of  dominant  educational  ideals,  have 
been  discussed  and  they  constitute  the  underly¬ 
ing  principles  of  education.  They  were  consid¬ 
ered  in  their  general  bearing  and  in  their  special 
relation  to  China. 

The  comprehensive,  if  not  thorough,  study  of 
the  various  needs  of  Chinese  life,  and  the  attempt 
to  discover  how  far  Christian  education  is  meet¬ 
ing  those  needs,  is  the  basis  for  estimating  the 
real  values  for  which  the  world  is  seeking  as 
never  before.  The  moral  and  religious  needs  con¬ 
stitute  the  climax,  and  we  believe  that  we  found 
the  supreme  and  chief  value  in  the  personality 
of  Jesus  Christ  and  of  those  to  whom  he  gave 
the  power  and  privilege  to  become  the  sons  of 
God.  The  value  becomes  effective  through  social 
contacts  of  natural  human  life. 

These  studies  of  Christian  education  and  its 
problems  in  China  are  a  part  of  the  great  and 
eternal  problem  of  human  society  which  is  the 
perfect  adjustment  between  the  individual  and 
society,  and  between  both  of  these  human  fac¬ 
tors  and  the  divine  spiritual  force  which  lies 


296  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


behind  and  controls  all  phenomena.  The  nature 
and  permanence  of  this  adjustment  depend  on 
moral  and  religious  sanctions.  The  human  means 
of  effecting  this  adjustment  is  education;  the 
divine  means  is  the  growth  of  the  human  instincts 
in  their  reaction,  according  to  natural  laws,  to 
their  material,  social,  and  spiritual  environment. 

The  function  of  education  is  to  utilize  the  racial 
inheritance  of  instinctive  and  acquired  character¬ 
istics  so  as  to  produce  the  most  helpful  and  pro¬ 
gressive  variants  in  individual  and  social  phe¬ 
nomena.  This  is  accomplished  according  to 
natural,  definite,  and  increasingly  wTell-known 
laws  of  individual  and  social  development,  and 
not  by  violation,  defiance,  or  supervention  of 
these  laws.  Education  is  coming  to  be  the  chief 
means  of  social  control,  not  as  a  force  from  with¬ 
out,  but  as  self-control  from  within. 

What  will  the  Chinese  contribute  to  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  this  goal  of  racial  progress?  There  are 
two  psychological  factors  that  seem  to  be  present 
in  Chinese  racial  development  which  are  fraught 
with  great  possibilities  for  the  future  of  human 
society.  These  cannot  be  assumed  with  dog¬ 
matic  assurance  but  they  are  worth  reckoning 
with  in  a  long,  forward  look  for  Christian  edu¬ 
cation  in  China. 

First,  the  present  emphasis  on  prolonging  the 
period  of  childhood  and  youth,  and  allowing 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  297 


growth  during  these  periods  to  take  as  nearly  a 
natural  course  as  possible  for  the  sake  of  the 
highest  development  of  the  individual,  suggests 
a  principle  that  may  be  expected  to  work  in  races 
and  nations.  Germany  furnishes  an  example  of 
the  unnatural  forcing  of  the  laws  of  individual 
and  racial  development  with  moral  and  religious 
arrest  as  the  result.  China  has  been  slow  in  her 
development,  has  lived  close  to  the  natural,  in¬ 
stinctive  life;  she  may  prove  to  have  developed 
powers  that  will  eventually  enable  her  to  surpass 
the  more  precocious,  but  perhaps  over-developed 
West,  as  is  often  the  case  in  individuals.  This 
may  appear  in  different  phases  of  future  national 
development.  As  already  pointed  out,  the  Jap¬ 
anese  have  taken  some  Western  inventions  and 
surpassed  the  West  in  the  technique  of  use. 
China  may  surpass  in  the  application  of  the 
social  principles  of  Jesus,  as  shown  by  the  state¬ 
ments  of  Chinese  leaders  in  the  National  Chinese 
Christian  Conference  held  at  Shanghai,  in  May, 
1922.  The  Chinese  openly  decline  to  accept 
Western  theology  and  denominational  distinc¬ 
tions,  express  their  preference  for  the  social  in¬ 
terpretation  of  Christianity,  and  are  conscious 
that  they  have  a  national  contribution  to  make 
to  the  common  cause  of  humanity. 

The  second  factor  that  is  of  particular  con¬ 
cern  to  Christian  education  appears  in  the 


298  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


process  of  socializing  the  individual.  That  this 
process  has  been  carried  to  a  degree  in  the  East 
which  has  almost  submerged  the  individual  can¬ 
not  be  questioned.  This  need  not  be  regarded  as 
a  loss.  On  the  contrary,  from  the  standpoint  of 
ordinary  human  nature,  it  will  be  easier  to  de¬ 
velop  the  socialized  individual  to  his  highest  de¬ 
gree  of  development  and  fitness  for  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  than  it  will  be  to  curb  the  highly  in¬ 
dividualized  personality  and  bring  it  to  subordi¬ 
nate  self-interest  to  the  welfare  of  the  commun¬ 
ity.  Concrete  cases  of  the  latter  adjustment  are 
familiar  to  the  most  casual  observer  of  human 
nature. 

It  seems  to  be  a  remarkable  revelation  of  God’s 
plan  for  the  redemption  of  the  race  and  the  es¬ 
tablishment  of  His  Kingdom,  that  the  world 
should  be  drawn  into  closer  international  con¬ 
tacts,  just  as  the  East  has  come  to  see  the  value 
of  the  individual,  and  just  as  the  West  begins 
to  recognize  its  social  obligations  and  possibili¬ 
ties.  It  is  a  movement  of  those  spiritual  forces 
that  man  has  recognized  but  dimly,  sometimes 
fought  against,  and  worked  with  at  other  times, 
which  gives  foundation  for  a  new  and  more  pro¬ 
found  faith  in  God  and  in  Jesus  Christ.  The 
time  has  come  when  intelligence,  foresight,  and 
social  instincts,  are  ready  to  be  used  in  co-opera¬ 
tion  with  God,  through  education,  for  the  more 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  299 

rapid  progress  toward  the  divine  goal  of  the 
human  race.  The  goal  must  still  be  achieved  by 
slow,  natural  growth,  perhaps  for  centuries,  but 
it  will  be  a  great  gain  for  humanity  to  realize,  as 
Jesus  did,  the  possibility  of  being  fellow-workers 
with  God.  The  attainment  of  the  goal  depends, 
not  on  acquiring  knowledge,  primarily,  but  on 
building  up  right  mental  attitudes.  Education 
is  the  process  of  building  up,  through  selected 
experience,  those  mental  attitudes  which  have 
this  survival  value. 

Important  as  is  the  function  of  education,  the 
function  of  religion  is  equally  important.  Re¬ 
ligion  supplies  that  factor  in  mental  attitude  by 
which  the  race  orients  itself  to  the  spiritual  forces 
of  the  universe.  Religion  has  been  the  chief 
means  of  social  control,  but  seems  to  be  giving 
place  to  education  in  the  present  trend  of  social 
development.  It  is  apparent,  in  the  West  and 
in  the  East,  that  old  religious  sanctions  are  losing 
their  power.  It  is  equally  evident  that  man  is 
not  losing  his  instinctive  desire  to  find  God,  es¬ 
tablish  right  relations  and  hold  communion  with 
Him.  An  increasing  amount  of  education  is 
carried  on  apart  from  direct  religious  control; 
education  under  the  control  of  religion  has  been 
unsatisfactory,  though  not  without  beneficial 
results.  Religion,  then,  finds  its  proper  function 
in  furnishing  the  orientation,  idealism,  and  in- 


\ 


300  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

spiration  that  will  prevent  education  from  becom¬ 
ing  narrow,  materialistic  and  self-sufficient. 

Both  religion  and  education  are  coming  to 
realize  the  fact  that  progress  comes  by  the  fullest 
development  of  the  individual  in  harmony  with 
his  entire  environment,  and  that  the  attempt  to 
standardize  the  spiritual  and  mental  processes 
and  results  is  as  senseless,  cruel  and  fatal  as  was 
the  practice  of  Procrustes.  In  this  conception  of 
religion  and  education,  lies  the  adjustment  be¬ 
tween  the  individual  and  society  that  will  enable 
both  to  reach  the  goal  of  perfection  which  Jesus 
attained,  revealed  and  set  forth  as  a  challenge  to 
all  mankind. 

The  human  race  is  only  just  rising  rough- 
molded  by  the  Divine  Spirit  from  the  dust  of 
the  earth.  The  physical  form  may  or  may  not 
as  yet  be  perfected;  the  spiritual  creation  will 
not  be  complete  until  the  race  reaches  the  divine 
perfection  revealed  in  and  by  the  Son  of  God. 

Ye  therefore  shall  be  perfect  as  your  heavenly  Father 
is  perfect. 

Now  are  we  the  sons  of  God,  and  it  doth  not  yet 
appear  what  we  shall  be;  but  we  know  that,  when  He 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  Him;  for  we  shall  see 
Him  as  He  is.  And  every  man  that  hath  this  hope 
in  him  purifieth  himself,  even  as  he  is  pure. 

He  that  believeth  on  me,  the  works  that  I  do  shall 
he  do  also;  and  greater  works  than  these  shall  he  do; 
because  I  go  unto  my  Father. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  3 01 


Jesus,  as  he  sat  by  the  sea,  told  his  disciples 
that  it  was  given  to  them  to  know  the  mysteries 
of  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  but  that  the  mass  of 
the  people  did  not  understand.  He  said  also, 
“Many  prophets  and  righteous  men  have  desired 
to  see  these  things  which  ye  see  and  have  not  seen 
them.”  The  two  parables  that  followed  indicate 
that  he  thought  of  the  Kingdom  as  a  growth 
under  natural  conditions.  This  century  seems 
much  nearer  realizing  the  object  of  prophetic 
longing,  the  mysteries  of  the  Kingdom,  than  were 
those  disciples  ;  it  may  not  see  the  full  attainment 
of  the  perfect  divine-human  society,  but  that  goal 
is  so  plainly  in  view  now  that  it  is  evident  to 
increasing  thousands  in  a  world  where,  hitherto, 
it  has  been  discerned  by  but  few  and  seen  with 
clearness  by  but  one,  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  In  the 
clearness  of  his  discernment  and  in  his  person¬ 
ality,  life,  and  death,  is  the  redemption  of  human 
society  and  the  establishment  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God  on  earth. 


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302 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  3 03 

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NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  SO 5 

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306  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

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NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  307 


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308  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 

Shailer  Mathews,  “The  Spiritual  Interpretation  of 
History”  (1916). 


Addenda 

Publications  that  have  appeared  since  this  manu¬ 
script  was  prepared: 

The  Report  of  the  China  Educational  Commission 
which  visited  China  in  1921-1922,  Title :  “Chris¬ 
tian  Education  in  China,”  published  by  the  For¬ 
eign  Missions  Conference  of  North  America,  1922. 
“The  Analysis  of  Christian  Propaganda  in  Race-Con¬ 
tact,”  by  Maurice  T.  Price;  examined  in  manu¬ 
script  form.  Deals  with  individual  and  group 
behaviour  reactions  of  non-Christian  peoples  to  the 
Protestant  missionary  enterprise ;  a  significant 
study  bearing  on  the  problem  of  adjustment  be¬ 
tween  growing  national  and  international  con¬ 
sciousness,  and  the  motives  of  Christian  missions. 
“West  and  East,”  E.  C.  Moore,  Scribner’s,  1922.  For 
the  study  of  the  motives  and  results  of  Christen¬ 
dom  in  contact  with  non-Christian  nations. 

The  official  records  of  the  National  Christian  Confer¬ 
ence,  Shanghai,  China,  May,  1922 ;  Mission  Book 
Company,  Shanghai.  Shows  Chinese  reaction  to 
Christian  missions  and  the  rapid  development  of 
tendencies  pointed  out  in  this  study  of  conditions 
in  China. 


REFERENCES 

1.  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education”  (1916), 

p.  117. 

2.  Dewey,  ibid.,  p.  118. 

3.  Report  of  the  China  Continuation  Committee 

(1914),  pp.  20,  33,  34. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  309 


4.  China  Mission  Year  Book  (1916) ,  p.  392. 

5.  Chinese  Recorder,  September  (1916),  p.  585. 

6.  China  Mission  Year  Book  (1916),  p.  291;  also 

p.  292. 

7.  China  Mission  Year  Book  (1915),  p.  384,  quoting 

Professor  Michael  Sadler. 

8.  See  Coe,  “Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,” 

Ch.  VI,  pp.  85,  86. 

9.  Centenary  Conference  Report  (1907),  p.  59. 

10.  W.  A.  Brown,  “Modern  Missions  in  the  Far  East,” 

pp.  31,  32,  33. 

11.  Brown,  ibid.,  p.  33. 

12.  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education,”  p.  119. 

13.  It  is  worth  while  noting,  here,  that  British  and 

Continental  educators  assign  Professor  Dewey 
first  place  among  those  engaged  in  the  recon¬ 
struction  of  American  educational  ideals.  See 
China  Educational  Review,  October,  1916,  p. 
354. 

14.  Chinese  Recorder,  September  (1916),  p.  586;  also 

China  Mission  Year  Book,  in  a  Committee  Re¬ 
port,  p.  291. 

15.  Graves,  “History  of  Education,”  Yol.  I,  p.  63. 

16.  The  Trimetrical  Classics;  Translations,  see 

“China,  an  Interpretation,”  James  W.  Bashford, 
p.  534. 

17.  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education,”  p.  134. 

18.  Dewey,  ibid.,  p.  141. 

19.  T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  “China  Educational  Review,” 

October  (1916),  p.  361. 

20.  Hatch,  “The  Influence  of  Greek  Ideas  and  Usages 

Upon  the  Christian  Church,”  pp.  43,  44.  Quoted 
by  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education,”  p.  326. 

21.  Monroe,  “Brief  Course  in  the  History  of  Educa¬ 

tion,”  pp.  28,  29. 

22.  Monroe,  ibid.,  p.  53. 


310  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


23.  Monroe,  “Brief  Course  in  the  History  of  Educa¬ 

tion/’  p.  53. 

24.  Hatch,  “The  Influence  of  Greek  Ideas  and  Usages 

Upon  the  Christian  Church/’  pp.  43,  44.  Quoted 
by  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education,”  p.  326. 

25.  Hatch,  ibid.,  p.  326. 

26.  Monroe,  “Brief  Course  in  the  History  of  Educa¬ 

tion,”  p.  68. 

27.  Monroe,  ibid.,  p.  130. 

28.  Monroe,  ibid.,  p.  160. 

29.  Ellwood,  “The  Social  Problem,”  pp.  65-6. 

30.  Wells,  “Italy,  France,  and  Britain  at  War,”  p. 

216. 

31.  Monroe,  “Brief  Course  in  the  History  of  Edu¬ 

cation,”  p.  78. 

32.  Dewey,  “Schools  of  Tomorrow,”  particularly 

Chapter  IV.  See  Dewey,  “The  School  and  So¬ 
ciety”  :  Coe,  “Education  in  Religion  and  Morals,” 
pp.  124-127. 

33.  Weeks,  “The  Education  of  Tomorrow,”  p.  211. 

34.  Dewey,  “Schools  of  Tomorrow,”  pp.  57,  58,  86. 

35.  China  Educational  Review,  April,  1916,  pp.  104, 

105. 

36.  Weeks,  “The  Education  of  Tomorrow,”  p.  205. 

37.  China  Educational  Review,  July,  1916. 

38.  Suggested  by  Weeks,  “The  Education  of  To¬ 

morrow,”  pp.  213-4. 

39.  Chinese  Recorder,  February,  1917,  p.  100. 

40.  Chu  Tzu,  “On  the  Method  of  Study,”  translated 

by  Evan  Morgan,  “Wenli  Styles  and  Chinese 
Ideals,”  p.  178. 

41.  Instructions  of  Master  Chu,  posted  in  the  Pei  Lu 

Tung  College,  preface  by  Hung  Mao :  Transla¬ 
tion  by  Evan  Morgan,  “Wenli  Styles  and  Chi¬ 
nese  Ideals,”  p.  198. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  311 


42.  Instructions  of  Master  Chu,  op.  cit.  p.  170. 

43.  Chu  Tzu,  “Introduction  to  the  Great  Learning,” 

p.  144. 

44.  Chu  Tzu,  ibid p.  148. 

45.  Chu  Tzu,  “What  Children  Ought  to  Know,” 

Translation  by  Evan  Morgan,  ibid.,  p.  150-163. 

46.  Hung  Mou,  Preface  to  above,  p.  142. 

47.  Chu  Tzu,  “Introduction  to  the  Great  Learning,” 

Translation,  Evan  Morgan,  p.  142. 

48.  Chu  Tzu,  ibid.,  p.  146. 

49.  Chu  Tzu,  ibid.,  p.  146. 

50.  Hung  Mao,  Preface  to  “Instructions  of  Master 

Chu”  posted  in  the  White  Deer  Grotto  College 
(1130-1200  A.D.),  Translated  by  Evan  Morgan, 

p.  168. 

51.  Chu  Tzu,  “Instructions  to  Students  in  the  White 

Deer  Grotto  College,”  Translated  by  Evan  Mor¬ 
gan,  p.  170. 

52.  Hung  Mao,  Preface  to  “Advice  to  Students”  in 

Tsang  Chow  University  by  Chu  Tzu;  Transla¬ 
tion  by  Evan  Morgan,  p.  164. 

53.  Chu  Tzu,  “Instructions  to  Students  in  the  White 

Deer  Grotto  College,”  Translation  by  Evan  Mor¬ 
gan,  p.  172. 

54.  The  Emperor  Kang  Hsi  (1662-1723),  “Foster 

Schools  in  Order  to  Promote  Education” ;  Trans¬ 
lation  by  Evan  Morgan,  p.  210. 

55.  Chu  Tzu,  “Instructions  to  the  Students  of  White 

Deer  Grotto  College,”  Translation  by  Evan  Mor¬ 
gan,  p.  172. 

56.  “Maxims  of  the  Pattern  of  Youth,”  Translation 

by  Evan  Morgan,  p.  200. 

57.  Ernst  Faber,  “Digest  of  Doctrines  of  Confucius,” 

p.  69. 

58.  Faber,  ibid.,  p.  36. 


312  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


59.  Confucius,  “Doctrine  of  the  Mean,”  XXV,  3; 

for  comparison  in  translation  see  Faber,  p.  47, 
and  Legge,  Vol.  I,  p.  283. 

60.  Confucius,  Analects,  XIY,  45;  Translation  by 

Faber,  p.  72. 

61.  Confucius,  “Great  Learning,”  classical  text  of 

Confucius,  6 ;  Legge,  I,  223. 

62.  Confucius,  ibid..  Ill,  4;  Translation  by  Legge, 

I,  p.  227. 

63.  Liang  Ch’i  Cii’iao,  “The  Aims  of  the  Modern 

Hunan  School”;  Translation  by  Evan  Morgan, 
p.  214. 

64.  National  Herald  (Pekin,  China) ;  quoted  by 

Reinsch,  “Intellectual  and  Political  Currents  in 
the  Far  East,”  p.  202. 

65.  Dr.  Fong  F.  Sec,  China  Educational  Review, 

January,  1917,  pp.  63-65. 

66.  Dr.  Fong  F.  Sec,  ibid.,  p.  65. 

67.  China  Educational  Review,  April,  1916. 

68.  T.  H.  P.  Sailer,  China  Educational  Review, 

April,  1915,  p.  155. 

69.  Dewey,  “Democracy  and  Education,”  p.  328. 

70.  Kirkpatrick,  “Fundamentals  of  Sociology,”  p.  19. 

71.  The  suggestions  for  this  grouping  are  derived  from 

unpublished  lectures  of  Professor  G.  E.  Dawson, 
in  “Racial  Psychology.” 

72.  Analects,  YI,  28;  Compare  translation  by  Legge 

with  Faber,  “Doctrines  of  Confucius,”  p.  43. 

73.  “Doctrine  of  the  Mean,”  XIII,  cf.  ibid.,  X ; 

Translation  by  Faber,  p.  43. 

74.  Kirkpatrick,  “Fundamentals  of  Sociology,”  p.  38. 

75.  For  fuller  discussion  of  English  conditions,  see 

Burgess,  “The  Function  of  Socialization  in 
Social  Evolution,”  pp.  137-174;  also  Porthero, 
in  “Social  England,”  V,  99-105,  from  which 
Burgess  quotes. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  SIS 


76.  Burgess,  ibid.,  p.  130 ;  quotes  from  Cunningham, 

Symes,  Adam  Smith. 

77.  Ross,  “Changing  Chinese,”  pp.  119,  312. 

78.  Ross,  ibid.,  p.  117. 

79.  Bashford,  “China:  An  Interpretation,”  p.  49. 

80.  Bashford,  ibid.,  pp.  83-85. 

81.  Bashford,  ibid.,  p.  78. 

82.  Bashford,  ibid.,  p.  86. 

83.  Reinsch,  “Intellectual  and  Political  Currents  in 

the  Far  East,”  pp.  6-11. 

84.  Ely,  “Evolution  of  Industrial  Society,”  p.  315. 
85*  Wagner,  quoted  by  Ely,  ibid.,  p.  320. 

86.  Ely,  op.  cit.,  p.  322. 

87.  Ely,  op.  cit.,  p.  89. 

88.  Ely,  ibid,,  p.  98. 

89.  China  Mission  Year  Book,  1916,  p.  276  et  seq. 

90.  Tao-no-Hikari,  January  (1915).  See  also  the 

“Japanese  Evangelist”  discussions. 

91.  Ely,  “Evolution  of  Industrial  Society,”  pp.  69- 

70;  Elwood,  “The  Social  Problem,”  pp.  146- 
152. 

92.  Ross,  “Sin  and  Society,”  preface. 

93.  Kirkpatrick,  “Fundamentals  of  Sociology,”  pp. 

65,  66,  76. 

94.  Edwards,  “Popular  Amusements,”  p.  164. 

95.  China  Educational  Review,  July,  1915. 

96.  China  Educational  Review,  October,  1916. 

97.  Curtis,  “Education  through  Play,”  p.  15. 

98.  Rauschenbusch,  “Christianizing  the  Social 

Order,”  p.  249;  quoted  by  Edwards,  “Popular 
Amusements,”  p.  21. 

99.  Edwards,  “Popular  Amusements,”  p.  23. 

100.  Edwards,  ibid.,  pp.  135-144,  particularly  140,  141. 

101.  Edwards,  ibid.,  p.  143. 

102.  Edwards,  ibid.,  p.  163. 

103.  Bushell,  “Chinese  Art,”  Yol.  I,  pp.  15,  16. 


314,  CHRISTIAN  EDUCATION  AND  THE 


104.  Werner,  E.  T.  C.,  “Descriptive  Sociology  of  the 

Chinese,”  p.  91,  Col.  1. 

105.  Werner,  ibid.,  Table  YI,  Cols.  3,  4.  Quoted  from 

Bashford,  p.  126. 

106.  Capen,  “Social  Progress  in  Mission  Lands,”  p. 

111. 

107.  Dennis,  J.  S.,  ‘'Christian  Missions  and  Social 

Progress,”  Vol.  I,  p.  117 ;  quoted  by  Capen,  ibid., 
p.  113. 

108.  Capen,  ibid.,  p.  113. 

109.  Kirkpatrick,  “Fundamentals  of  Sociology,”  p. 

197. 

110.  Kirkpatrick,  ibid.,  p.  196. 

111.  Capen,  “Social  Progress  in  Mission  Lands,”  p. 

111. 

112.  W.  W.  Peters,  China  Educational  Review,  April, 

1915,  p.  114. 

113.  XJong  Gang  Huo,  China  Educational  Review,  Jan¬ 

uary,  1917,  pp.  14-17. 

114.  Kirkpatrick,  ibid.,  pp.  256,  257. 

115.  Kirkpatrick,  ibid.,  p.  101. 

116.  Faber,  “Doctrines  of  Confucius,”  p.  55. 

117.  Bashford,  “China:  An  Interpretation,”  pp.  93,  94. 

118.  Bashford,  ibid.,  pp.  272,  273;  quoted  from  Wer¬ 

ner,  ibid.,  p.  95,  Col.  1. 

119.  Bashford,  ibid.,  p.  271;  quoted  from  Medhurst, 

“China,”  pp.  131,  132. 

120.  Bashford,  ibid.,  pp.  275,  276. 

121.  Faber,  “Doctrines  of  Confucius,”  p.  22. 

122.  Faber,  ibid.,  p.  55. 

123.  Bashford,  “China :  An  Interpretation,”  p.  176. 

124.  Bashford,  ibid.,  pp.  188-190. 

125.  Bashford,  ibid.,  pp.  190,  187. 

126.  Bashford,  ibid.,  Ch.  X.  Cf.  also  articles  by  Frank 

Rawlinson  in  the  Chinese  Recorder,  July, 
August,  September,  1919. 


NATIONAL  CONSCIOUSNESS  IN  CHINA  315 


127.  Bashford,  “China:  An  Interpretation/’  p.  262. 

128.  Bashforjd,  ibid.,  p.  262. 

129.  Bashford,  ibid.,  p.  263. 

130.  Faber,  “Doctrines  of  Confucius/’  p.  32. 

131.  Legge,  “Religions  of  China/’  pp.  49,  50. 

132.  Legge,  ibid.,  pp.  49,  50. 


I 


INDEX 


Abundant  Life,  43,  55,  90, 
103,  127,  248,  270. 

Analects,  116. 

Ancestor-worship,  145,  241, 

242,  251. 

Anti-Christian  Movement, 
128,  129,  130. 

Banks,  173,  174. 

Bashford,  James  W.,  169, 

172,  252,  258,  260,  265. 

Biological  Factors,  nutrition, 
assimilation,  reproduc¬ 
tion,  140-147. 

Biology,  2,  18,  97. 

Bio-psychological,  138,  140, 
251. 

Brown,  W.  A.,  43,  44. 

Buddhism,  265,  266,  270. 

Burton,  E.  P.,  38. 

Chang  Ih  Ling,  109. 

China  Christian  Educational 
Association,  38,  106. 

China  Educational  Commis¬ 
sion,  38,  130,  308. 

China,  Life  Needs — Biological, 
140-147 ;  psychological, 
147-155;  economic,  156- 
197;  protective,  198-204; 
recreational,  205-224 ; 
cultural,  225-232 ;  social, 
233-250;  moral  and  reli¬ 
gious,  251-280;  educa¬ 
tional,  281-293. 

Chinese — Adaptability,  169 ; 
amusements  classified, 
214-217 ;  business  reli¬ 
ability,  174,  175,  252, 

253,  260 ;  contributions 
to  racial  progress,  296- 
298 ;  cultural  achieve- 

317 


ments,  225-229;  gregari¬ 
ousness,  233-235 ;  law, 
200,  201,  202,  257,  258; 
moral  standards,  251, 
252,  256,  257  (homicide, 
257 ;  adultery,  258 ; 
stealing,  false-witness, 
covetousness,  258 ;  fra¬ 
ternal  love,  260)  ;  play- 
instinct,  208,  209;  physi¬ 
cal  development,  210-212; 
socialization,  185,  186, 

187;  thrift  and  waste, 
180,  181;  sensory-motor 
type,  168. 

Chin  Shih  Huang,  226. 
Christian  Mission — Motives, 
17-26;  compared,  21,  22; 
choice,  22;  reasons  for 
choice,  22-26. 

Chu  Tzu,  109,  110,  111,  113, 

115. 

Civilization,  252,  255,  258, 

259,  261;  cross-fertiliza¬ 
tion,  103;  Eastern,  103, 
104;  Western,  103,  104. 

Colleges,  32,  190,  247. 
Community,  233-235,  244- 

248. 

Comparative  Education,  105. 
Competition,  79,  94,  184-189, 
256. 

Concubinage,  235-238,  240, 

260. 

Confucius  —  Superior  Man, 

116,  117,  118,  259;  wom¬ 
an’s  status,  236,  252; 
moral  ideas,  259,  266 ; 
God,  265,  267 ;  influence, 
270. 

Co-operation,  58,  94,  131,  136, 
184-189,  256. 


318 


INDEX 


Cultural,  225-232 ;  activities 
classified,  225;  brief  sum¬ 
mary,  225-230;  Christian 
education,  229-232;  com¬ 
mercialization,  232;  diffu¬ 
sion-media,  229,  232 ; 

moral  significance,  232 ; 
needs  defined,  225;  relig¬ 
ious  significance,  227 ; 
Western  interpretations 
of,  227. 

Curriculum,  107,  108. 


Democracy  of  God  defined,  14, 
15,  16,  25,  29,  51,  59. 
Dewey,  John,  28,  29,  45,  46, 
49,  52,  54. 

Diminishing  Returns,  143, 
158. 

Divorce,  237,  238,  239,  240. 


Economic,  156-197. 

Needs  defined ,  157 ;  Pro¬ 
duction,  158-170;  agri¬ 
cultural,  158-161;  min¬ 
eral,  161,  162;  manufac¬ 
turing,  162,  163,  164; 

efficiency  in,  164,  165, 

166,  167 ;  labor  cost,  165, 
166;  non-producers,  167, 
194;  natural  power,  162- 
170;  changes  in  condi¬ 
tion,  169 ;  Distribution, 
170-178;  factors  defined, 
170;  changes  in  and  re¬ 
sults,  170,  171;  educa¬ 
tion  needed,  171,  172; 
railroads  and  religion, 
173;  banks,  173,  174; 
standardization,  175;  ad¬ 
vertising,  175,  176;  com¬ 
munity  rights  in  private 
business,  177 ;  Consump¬ 
tion,  178-184;  needs  de¬ 
fined,  178,  179;  receptive 
and  selective  judgment, 
179;  public  expenditures, 
181;  Adjustment,  basis 


of,  184-189;  Christian 
education  and,  189-197. 

Education : 

General,  meaning  of,  299; 
aim,  28-30,  50-60,  131, 
299;  function,  296;  ideals, 
61-128  (esp.  61,  101), 

155;  factors — See  “fac¬ 
tors”  under  Christian 
Education ;  Greek  influ¬ 
ence  in,  63,  73,  74;  values, 
132,  133*  134,  147,  155. 

Chinese,  The  Task — School 
population,  281,  283; 

teachers,  283 ;  schools, 
283;  cost,  283;  illiteracy, 
109;  Elements — Classi¬ 
cal,  108-118;  social,  112- 
114;  Recent  Changes , 
119-128;  basis  of,  125; 
Special  Problems — ad¬ 
justment  to  political 
change,  283,  284;  expert 
adaptation  from  other 
nations,  284 ;  teacher 
training,  285 ;  correla¬ 
tion  of  schools  and  com¬ 
munities,  285 ;  adminis¬ 
tration,  286 ;  support, 
286 ;  language  reform, 
287 ;  balance  in  educa¬ 
tional  factors,  287 ;  edu¬ 
cational  measurements, 
287,  288. 

Classical,  The  Ideal,  61-80; 
status,  61,  62,  77,  103; 
origin,  63-65 ;  develop¬ 
ment,  66;  characteristics, 
67-73;  curriculum,  67- 
70;  viewpoint,  70;  aim, 
71;  method,  69;  spirit, 
71,  72;  motive  force,  72, 
73;  values,  76,  80;  criti¬ 
cisms,  76-80;  test  of  168, 
196. 

Greek,  63,  67,  73,  74,  77,  83, 
84,  109. 

Social,  The  Ideal,  81-100; 
status,  81,  82,  97-100; 
origin,  82 ;  development, 


INDEX 


319 


83-87;  misuse,  83,  84; 
characteristics,  87-96; 
curriculum,  88-90;  meth¬ 
od,  90-92;  viewpoint,  92; 
aim,  92;  spirit,  93;  mo¬ 
tive  force,  94,  95,  296; 
religious  elements,  81- 
85,  96,  99,  295,  296; 

criticism,  97,  98;  social 
control  by,  296. 

Christian ,  The ,  Task,  27, 
130,  288,  293;  Aims,  27- 
60;  indefinite  and  con¬ 
flicting,  illustrations,  rea¬ 
sons,  27-51;  under  inves¬ 
tigation  and  re-state¬ 
ment,  37-39,  45,  51,  123, 
124;  suggested  lines  of 
re-statement,  44-60 ;  ba¬ 
sic  principle,  42 ;  func¬ 
tion,  criteria,  character¬ 
istics,  45-47 ;  summar¬ 
ized,  49,  50;  compared 
with  government  educa¬ 
tion,  50,  51,  118;  social 
aim  stated,  51,,  59; 

Elements — Classical,  61- 
80  (for  detail  see  Classi¬ 
cal  Ideal)  ;  social,  81- 
100  (for  detail  see  Social 
Ideal)  ;  classical  domi¬ 
nant,  105;  motive  force, 
118,  119;  Basal  Factors 
— material  and  spiritual, 
139,  154,  155,  197;  bio- 
psycliological,  137,  138- 
155  (for  detail  see  Bio¬ 
logical  and  Psychologi¬ 
cal)  ;  economic,  156-197; 
protective,  198-204;  rec¬ 
reational,  205-224;  cul¬ 
tural,  225-232 ;  social, 
233-250;  moral,  251-264; 
religious,  264-280 ;  edu¬ 
cational,  281-295;  Prob¬ 
lems — Primary:  meet  life 
needs,  132,  133,  134,  295, 
300;  Secondary:  correlate 
national  and  interna¬ 
tional  consciousness,  130; 


adjustment  with  Chinese 
education,  101-128;  co¬ 
operation  with  Chinese, 
290,  291;  correlation 

with  democratic  move¬ 
ment,  125,  126,  284; 

class  education,  121,  122; 
complexity,  102,  128; 

choice  of  subject-matter, 
104,  105,  108,  126,  127; 
language,  medium,  106 ; 
motive  force,  118,  119; 
method,  34,  36;  teacher 
training,  131,  289-291; 
research  and  experiment, 
290,  291;  religious  edu¬ 
cation,  292,  293;  Tests , 
Resdilts  and  Values — 
meeting  life  needs,  131, 
132,  136,  137,  138,  153, 

154,  155,  160,  166,  167, 
170,  172,  178,  181,  ISO- 

197,  200,  203,  217,  221, 

235,  236,  237,  244; 

Changes  Needed  —  ideal, 
method,  subject-matter, 
101,  122,  130,  292,  293. 

Special  Phases — industrial, 
122,  146,  192;  manual, 
122,  192,  193;  normal, 

284,  285;  pre-vocational, 
281,  285;  vocational,  281, 

285. 

Edwards,  R.  H.,  214. 

Elementary  Schools — Curric¬ 
ula,  78,  104-108. 

Ely,  R.  T.,  181,  184. 

Environment,  132,  139,  140, 
146,  147,  148,  154. 

Evangelization  vs.  Prosely- 
tism,  40-44,  50. 

Faber,  E.,  252,  267. 

Family,  234-244 ;  basis  and 
unit,  235;  development, 

236,  237 ;  determined  by 
circumstances,  236 ;  po¬ 
sition  of  women,  236 ; 
betrothal,  237 ;  polyg¬ 
amy,  237;  divorce,  238- 


320 


INDEX 


241;  morality  of,  236; 
discipline  in,  241 ;  ances¬ 
tor  worship,  241,  242. 
Filial  Piety,  241,  242. 
Froebel,  87,  89,  93. 


Gamewell,  F.  D.,  38. 

Gee,  N.  Gist,  210. 

Germany,  73,  96,  286,  297. 

Great  Learning,  111,  116. 

Guilds,  244. 

Herbartian,  87,  220,  284. 

Heredity,  71,  140,  146. 

Honesty,  174,  175,  252,  260. 

Humanism,  77,  79. 

Hygiene  and  Sanitation,  243. 

Ideals,  see  “Classical”  and 
“Social”  under  Educa¬ 
tion. 

India — Social  unrest,  48, 
195;  sensory  reflective, 
195;  subject-matter,  126. 

Individualism,  72-76,  110,  111, 
116-118,  147. 

Individual  Variation  Recog¬ 
nized,  53,  56;  Social  cor¬ 
rective  in  China,  58. 

Industrialism — Basis  of  ad¬ 
justment,  184,  188; 

fruits  of  competitive, 
188;  change  to  imper¬ 
sonal,  200;  and  family 
life,  203,  236;  and  rec¬ 
reation,  210,  213,  214. 

Instincts — Altruistic,  94,  95, 
96,  152,  154,  185;  ego¬ 
istic  instincts,  76,  95, 
111,  117,  118,  185; 

grouped,  139,  140;  re¬ 

productive,  145 ;  play, 
205-210;  social,  233-250. 

Interdenominational,  36,  37, 
293. 

Internationalism,  71,  151- 

155,  185,  186,  187. 

I  Yin,  117. 


Japan — High  Schools,  196; 
cultural  education,  231; 
family,  238;  search  for 
truth,  255 ;  mastery  of 
nature,  149,  297 ;  influ¬ 
ence  on  Chinese  educa¬ 
tion,  105,  119,  283,  284, 
285 ;  democratic  move¬ 
ment,  29. 

Jesus — Attitude  toward  so¬ 
cial  institutions,  10-16; 
the  individual,  11,  74; 
social  ideal,  81,  82;  His 
gospel  of  an  ideal  world- 
society,  see  “Kingdom  of 
God”  and  “Democracy”; 
His  ideals  and  person¬ 
ality  needed  in  China, 
269-272,  294,  295,  301; 
principles  and  teachings, 
10,  11,  81,  82,  92. 


Kingdom  of  God — Meaning, 
6,  7;  characteristics: 

origin  of  the  idea,  8; 
scope,  9;  principles,  10; 
method,  11;  agency,  12; 
value,  13;  task,  14;  pres¬ 
ent  interpretation  of  the 
phrase,  15,  51,  56,  57,  78, 
81,  294,  301;  realization 
of,  78,  99,  100,  204,  301 ; 
purposes,  51,  99,  134, 

135,  154,  294;  progressive 
50,  59,  78,  135,  155,  294, 
298;  God  and  man  co¬ 
operative,  53,  55,  135, 

298;  motive  force  119, 
294  295. 

Kirkpatrick,  E.  A. — 157,  201, 
229. 

Kulp,  D.  H.,  212. 


Land  Tenure,  159,  160. 
Lao-Tze,  265. 

Law  of  Diminishing  Returns, 
143,  158;  Increasing 

public  Expenditure,  182; 


INDEX 


321 


Chinese,  200,  218,  258; 
of  variation,  53,  69. 

Lu-Tze,  Emphasis  on  heart 
and  life,  259. 

Machinery,  farm,  159 ;  tex¬ 
tile,  162;  tools,  163,  164. 

Maguerye,  M.  R.,  228,  231. 

Malthusian  Law,  143. 

Marriage,  235-238. 

Mateer,  C.  W.,  41. 

Mencius,  Social  Element  in 
115  262. 

Middle  Schools,  120-123. 

Ming  Dynasty,  268. 

Ministry  of  Education,  27, 
109,  120. 

Mission  Methods,  intensive, 
130;  co-operative,  131, 
293. 

Monasticism,  74. 

Monroe,  Paul,  65. 

Moral  Needs,  Basis  of,  251 ; 
fundamental,  295;  ideals 
and  achievements,  255 ; 
comparisons  with  West, 
252-262;  problem  stated, 
253 ;  popular  ignorance, 
261 ;  religious  motives, 
253,  254,  256,  260,  262. 

Mo-Ti,  260-262. 

Motion  Pictures  and  recrea¬ 
tion,  215,  222;  culture, 
229,  232. 

Mysticism,  74. 

National  China  Christian 
Conference,  274,  297, 

308. 

National  Educational  As¬ 
sociation,  122. 

Nationalism,  Chinese,  129, 
130;  Japan,  130;  India, 
130. 

Naturalistic  Movement,  87. 

Nietzsche,  79. 

Normal  Schools,  lower,  285, 
291 ;  higher,  285,  291 ; 
colleges,  285,  291. 


Parents’  Day,  242. 

Paton,  L.  B.,  262. 

Pedagogy,  2,  97,  269,  292. 

Personality,  of  Jesus,  269, 
270;  human,  271. 

Pestalozzi,  87,  89. 

Philosophy,  Static,  52,  132, 
133,  136,  151;  develop¬ 
mental,  52,  132,  136; 

monistic,  2;  dualistic,  2; 
materialistic,  2,  52 ; 

spiritualistic,  2,  52. 

Protective,  Earlier  devices, 
198;  new  devices  needed, 
199;  government,  200; 
industry,  200,  201;  crim¬ 
inals,  201,  202;  housing, 
202 ;  dependents,  203 ; 
solution,  200;  Christian 
education  and,  201. 

Provincialism,  93. 

Psychological  Factors,  147, 
155;  Mastery  of  nature, 
149,  154;  racial  self-con¬ 
sciousness,  149,  150;  phy¬ 
siocentric,  150;  socia-cen- 
tric,  150;  cosmo-centric, 
151,  152;  psychic  forces, 
creative,  153,  154;  racial, 
154 ;  contributions  to  race 
progress,  296-299. 

Psychology,  1,  2,  18,  97,  185, 
277,  292,  296. 

Public  Expenditures,  181; 
Laws  of  increasing,  182; 
various  subjects,  183. 

Puritans,  161. 


Race-unity,  136,  137. 

Realism,  86. 

Recreation,  Defined,  205;  im¬ 
portance,  206,  210,  214, 
292;  activities,  208,  209; 
mentality  and,  209 ; 
morals  and  religion,  210, 
213-224;  education,  220, 
221;  economic  conditions 
and,  205,  213;  classified, 
214,  217 ;  commercializa- 


322 


INDEX 


tion,  217,  218,  222;  reg¬ 
ulation,  218,  219;  public 
opinion  and,  220. 

Reformation,  75,  85. 

Religion,  Nature,  139,  153; 
value  of,  3,  138. 

Religious  Education,  292, 
293. 

Renaissance,  75,  76,  77,  85, 
136. 

Reports  and  Surveys,  Educa¬ 
tion,  37,  38;  middle 

schools,  123 ;  elementary 
and  middle  schools,  38, 
39,  189;  industrial  mis¬ 
sions,  191 ;  medical,  243, 
244. 

Rockefeller  Foundation,  88. 

Roman  Education,  66,  68,  74, 
89. 

Ross,  E.  A.,  165,  253. 

Rousseau,  reaction  against 
current  classical  educa¬ 
tion,  113. 

Russia,  93,  99,  275. 


Sailer,  T.  H.  P.,  38,  49,  59. 

Scholasticism,  75,  125. 

Sectarianism,  40. 

Self-Improvement  Societies, 
244. 

Social,  Needs  defined,  233; 
manifestations  of  social 
instinct,  234 ;  Family , 
234,  235 ;  position  of 

women,  236 ;  betrothal, 
237 ;  marriage  regula¬ 
tions,  235,  237,  238; 

comparison  with  West, 
238,  239,  240,  244,  248, 
249 ;  Communities,  245, 
246:  morals  and  religion, 
238-242,  247-250;  Chris¬ 
tian  education  and,  236, 
237,  239-244;  249;  cen¬ 
ters,  247 ;  commercial¬ 
ization  of,  250. 

Social  Control,  14,  56,  63, 
237,  242,  276,  296,  299. 


Social  Efficiency,  52,  56,  57, 
59. 

Social  Heredity,  140. 

Socialization,  of  the  individ¬ 
ual,  297,  298. 

Social  Realism,  64. 

Social  Research,  224. 

Society,  Problem  of,  295,  299; 
adjustment  of  individual 
and  society,  14,  298-300. 

Sociology,  1,  2,  18,  96,  190, 
277,  292. 

Song  Dynasty,  229. 

Statistics,  Christian  Schools, 
27 ;  industrial  missions, 
191;  physical  develop¬ 
ment,  211,  212. 

Superstition,  147. 


Tang  Dynasty,  229. 

Taoism,  265,  270. 

Teacher  Training,  34,  101 ; 
Normal  schools,  284,  285 ; 
teachers’  colleges,  285, 
290. 

Technical  Schools,  Provision 
for,  225 ;  Manual  training, 
191,  192;  industrial,  191; 
prevocational,  281,  285; 
vocational,  86,  217,  220. 

Theology,  1,  2,  12,  31,  85. 


United  States,  Educational 
administration,  286. 
Utilitarianism,  260,  261. 
Utopias,  75,  86. 


Variation,  146. 

Vernacular,  68,  106. 
Vocational,  281,  285;  pre¬ 
vocational,  281,  285. 


Woman,  Status  of,  217,  235- 
240. 

World  Missions,  The  Task; 
factors,  international  re- 


INDEX 


323 


lations,  material  and 
spiritual  forces,  1-16; 
challenge  of  present  aims 
and  method,  3-5,  43,  44; 
readjustment  needed,  3, 
4,  5,  15,  16;  the  perspec¬ 
tive  of,  6,  7 ;  objectives, 
16;  motive  force,  17- 
26. 


World  Society,  Education  for, 
1,  73,  133,  134,  136,  137, 
188;  Christianity  and.  2, 
9,  14,  15,  29,  294;  social 
ideal,  91-93;  China’s  con¬ 
tribution,  296,  297. 

Yen,  Tzu,  116. 

Yui,  David  Z.  T.,  109. 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Library 


1  1012  01056  4831 


Date  Due 


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